LHC quashes case over unproven allegation

LAHORE:

The Lahore High Court (LHC) has ruled that a person cannot be prosecuted under Section 182 of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) merely because an allegation or information provided by them could not be substantiated.

Justice Ghulam Sarwar Nehung, in a written judgment, held that the prosecution must establish that the information was knowingly false and provided with mala fide intent.

The judge observed that failure to prove an allegation and proving it false were two distinct matters.

The court held that a person providing information in good faith could not be convicted under the provision merely because it subsequently proved incorrect.

It further ruled that a written complaint by the public servant concerned was mandatory for initiating proceedings under Section 182 of the PPC. Proceedings initiated without such a complaint did not fulfil the legal requirements, the court observed.

The judge also held that a show-cause notice must be issued to the person concerned, giving them an opportunity to explain their position before proceedings were initiated.

Allowing a petition filed by Muhammad Shahid, the high court set aside the subordinate courts' orders dated February 26 and March 24, 2025, and quashed the criminal proceedings against him under Section 182 of the PPC.

The proceedings had been initiated after an error in the identification card number recorded in the property tax record was corrected.