Putting the brakes on: PHC limits CCPO powers to Peshawar

Declares extension of authority to Nowshera, Charsadda districts illegal.

PESHAWAR:

The Peshawar High court (PHC) has limited the jurisdiction of the capital city police officer (CCPO) to Peshawar only.

During a hearing of a suo motu notice, the bench said the CCPO shall have no authority over the police of other districts. PHC Chief Justice (CJ) Dost Muhammad Khan gave his detailed judgement and directed the provincial home department to issue an official gazette on this matter within 15 days.

CJ Khan maintained the Police Order 2002 and the Local Government Ordinance – in particular Sections 8 and 9 of the former– do not give authority to the CCPO to manage affairs of districts beyond the limits of Peshawar.

The Police Order 2002 (particularly Section 6) essentially requires the government to maintain a separate police establishment for every area. Section 11 further clarifies the division of regions is meant to enhance the working capacity of the force.



“It is next to impossible for a person sitting in the provincial capital to be able to control any other district. The complicated nature of crimes and considerable expansion of the police force makes it absolutely untenable for a single man to manage from afar,” stated CJ Khan.

Before the Police Order 2002 was enacted, every region had its own DIG. Under Section 11(2) of the Police Order 2002, an AIG is to manage the federal and all provincial capitals including Lahore, Peshawar, Karachi and Quetta.

The court termed the extension of CCPO’s powers to Charsadda and Nowshera districts as illegal and against the 2002 order. The CCPO is to limit his powers within the capital city only, ordered the court.

The eight-page-long judgment was reserved by PHC division bench comprising CJ Dost Muhammad and Justice Irshad Qaisar on March 14.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 9^th, 2013.