LHC rebukes NCCIA over campaign against judges

LAHORE:

The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Tuesday issued a stern warning to the director general of the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA), directing him to appear in person on January 15 and cautioning that he would be held personally responsible if any further defamatory content targeting judges surfaced on social media.

Justice Ali Zia Bajwa issued the directive while hearing a petition filed by advocate Mian Dawood, which challenges an alleged organised social media campaign aimed at maligning judges of the superior judiciary.

During the proceedings, the judge remarked that the court viewed the matter as serious and would pursue it to its logical conclusion.

Observing the nature of the campaign, Justice Bajwa remarked that "we will go to the bottom of this matter", terming the drive against judges "cyber terrorism".

The court ordered the authorities to compile lists of individuals and social media accounts involved in running the campaign and questioned who was orchestrating the effort behind the scenes. The judge expressed strong displeasure over the NCCIA's apparent inaction, asking whether the agency's suo motu powers had effectively ceased to exist.

Addressing NCCIA Punjab head Hashmat Kamal directly, the court questioned his silence and demanded an explanation for the lack of concrete action so far.

"Why is NCCIA sleeping? Such a horrifying campaign is being run against judges and you are silent," the court observed.

When the NCCIA official responded that the matter was being monitored periodically, Justice Bajwa questioned why the agency had failed to fulfil its legal obligations.

Referring to the relevant legal provisions, the court reminded the authorities that the law mandates action for the removal of illegal content and asked whether even a single tangible step had been taken in compliance with those requirements.

The court also sought clarification from Advocate General Punjab Amjad Pervez regarding the provincial government's position.