March 11, 2003	Tuesday	Muharram 7, 1424

Please Visit our Sponsor (Ads open in separate window).

PESHAWAR, March 10: The NWFP government has failed in its bid to revive the defunct executive magisterial system since the Peshawar High Court has turned down its request to confer magisterial powers on executive officers.

The provincial government had, in a letter on Feb 22, requested the chief justice to allow the government to give magisterial powers to officers under section 14 of the Criminal Procedure Code, dealing with cases under the local special laws pertaining to public meetings, unlawful assembly and processions of people.

Under section 14, such powers can be conferred by the provincial government on an officer only on the recommendation of the high court concerned.

Sources inform Dawn that the registrar of the high court, Saleem Khan Minakhel, in a letter sent to the secretary, NWFP home and tribal affairs department, expressed the inability of the high court to give such a recommendation to the government.

He observed that after amendments in the Criminal Procedure Code and with the introduction of the Police Order, magisterial powers could not be conferred on executive officers.

Under the devolution of power plan, the posts of commissioner, deputy commissioner, assistant commissioners, executive magistrates, etc., ceased to exist after Aug 14, 2001. Amendments were made in the CrPC in 2001 for abolishing the posts of the executive magistrates.

Similarly, through the Police Order, 2001, vast powers have been conferred on the local police some of which were exercised in the past by the executive magistrates.

The registrar has pointed out that after amendments in sections 127, 128, 129, 130 and 131 of the CrPC, the police have been empowered to control the unlawful assemblies of people. Previously, the executive magistrates used to check such assemblies.

Mr Minakhel, has explained these provisions of the CrPC in his letter. He has also pointed out that the trial of offences under the local and special laws, or chapter VII, X, XIII and XIV of the PPC, could be conveniently carried out through the existing judicial magistrates and the high court could direct them to try and decide such cases promptly and on priority basis.