Conviction Rate: Punjab govt, IGP given 2 days to reply

The poor conviction rate encourages criminals, says petitioner.

LAHORE: Justice Ali Baqir Najfi of the Lahore High Court on Monday issued notices to the Punjab government, the inspector general of Punjab Police and the capital city police officer on a petition objecting to the alleged “faulty method of investigation”. The respondents were given two days to reply. A petition filed by Advocate Muhammad Azhar Siddique claims that the conviction rate in criminal cases was only eight per cent. He says 92 per cent of the accused are acquitted. He has held the police responsible for this. The poor conviction rate, he says, encourages criminals. He has requested that Punjab government and the Punjab Police be directed to conduct investigations in line with modern techniques so criminals are punished.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 18^th, 2012.