PHC bars rights violations in raids

Court says home raids without warrant and evidence violate constitutional rights

PESHAWAR:

The Peshawar High Court (PHC) has ruled that law enforcement agencies cannot violate citizens' constitutional rights, dignity, and the privacy of their homes under the pretext of investigating criminal activities.

The court issued the observation in a written judgment while granting bail to two women and a man who had filed separate petitions challenging their arrest following a police raid in Mansehra.

A bench headed by Justice Mudassir Aamir heard the petitions against the police action. According to court records, police raided a rented house in Mansehra and arrested three individuals, registering a case against them under Sections 371-A and 371-B of the Pakistan Penal Code. Police claimed the raid was conducted in response to public complaints, while alleging that a fourth suspect managed to escape.

The judgment noted that Sections 371-A and 371-B are intended to prevent human trafficking and the exploitation of individuals through immoral activities. However, the court stressed that raids inside private homes cannot be justified in the absence of concrete evidence of human trafficking or sexual exploitation.

Justice Aamir observed that the FIR contained no allegations indicating that the petitioners or any other person were involved in the buying, selling, trafficking, or commercial exploitation of human beings. The court further noted that no money or evidence of any illicit transaction was recovered during the raid.

The judge remarked that the manner in which the raid was conducted raised serious legal and constitutional concerns, particularly because police failed to obtain a search warrant from a magistrate before entering the residence.

The judgment emphasized that such intrusion into a private home, especially when it involves the arrest of women, directly undermines the constitutional protections guaranteed under Articles 4, 9, and 14, which safeguard human dignity, personal liberty, and the privacy of the home.