Illegal arrests amount to abduction: IHC

The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Friday ruled that arrests made by police without following due legal process amount to abduction, ordering action against police personnel involved in an alleged fake encounter.

In a detailed 16-page written verdict, Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani imposed a fine of Rs100,000 on each officer found involved in the purported fake police encounter, directing that the amount be paid as compensation to the complainant, Sana Suhail. The court also ordered the return of vehicles, cash and jewellery taken from her home at the time of her arrest.

The verdict was issued in a case seeking the quashing of an FIR registered against citizens Muhammad Waqas, Aleem Suhail and his wife Sana Suhail. The court observed that, according to a report submitted by the Deputy Inspector General (DIG), show-cause notices had already been issued to police officers involved in the arrest of the woman and children.

The court held that when legal process is abused and justice is undermined, the settled principle is that such proceedings must be declared void. It noted that the Supreme Court has consistently ruled that if an FIR is unlawful at its very foundation, all subsequent proceedings must be set aside. However, the apex court has also held that the power to quash criminal proceedings should be exercised sparingly and only in exceptional circumstances.

Declaring the case to fall within such exceptional circumstances, the Islamabad High Court quashed the police case registered against Muhammad Waqas, Aleem Suhail, Sana Suhail and Arham Waqas.

The court again directed the Inspector General of Police (IGP) Islamabad to initiate action against officers involved in the alleged fake encounter and reaffirmed that each of the implicated officers would pay a fine of Rs100,000 as compensation to Sana Suhail. It further ordered that all seized vehicles, cash and jewellery be returned.