IHC moved against release of details of under-trial suspects

Accused shall be presumed innocent until proven guilty, argues petitioner

ISLAMABAD:

A petition has been filed in the Islamabad High Court against uploading photos of under-trial suspects by the federal police on social media.

The petition, filed by Advocate Danish Ishraq Abbasi, argues that “it is a settled principle of law that an accused shall be presumed innocent until proven guilty. Any action that undermines the right to innocence is detrimental to the accused.”

The petition further contended that posting pictures of the arrested suspects was a violation of their fundamental rights. “Posting pictures and details of the accused on social media has become a trend these days,” it stated and added that its only objective was to show the performance of the superior police officers.

According to the petitioner, after the appearance of their pictures on social media, the accused had to face mental agony.

“Their close relatives face harsh attitudes of the society and after the release of their pictures on the social media, their relatives also cut off relationship with the accused,” the petition argued.

The petitioner prayed to the court to restrain the police from releasing the pictures and details of the suspects on social media.

The Interior Secretary, Islamabad Inspector General of Police and the federal government have been made parties to the petition.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 26^th, 2023.