July 24, 2008	Thursday	Rajab 20, 1429

KARACHI, July 23: Police authorities appear reluctant to comply with court orders regarding the submission of charge-sheets, the arrest of culprits and the testimonies required in a number of criminal cases under trial in subordinate courts, Dawn has learnt. As a result, the progress of these cases has been slowed down significantly and justice cannot be dispensed.

Investigations undertaken by Dawn revealed that despite repeated reminders and the issuance of show-cause notices as well as bailable and non-bailable warrants of arrest, police officials have consistently been ignoring trial court directives to submit charge-sheets or testify as prosecution witnesses in a number of cases.

In many of the cases, courts have gone to the length of directing superior police authorities to ensure the presence in court of investigation officers or other policemen/officials nominated as prosecution witnesses. However, police high-ups have proved unsuccessful in exercising their influence.

One of the cases that has been delayed in this manner concerns three police constables who were charged for opening fire upon two motorcyclists on March 21. The incident took place within the limits of the Taimuria police station and one of the victims succumbed to his injuries later; the constables were booked and arrested under Sections 302 and 324 of the Pakistan Penal Code.

The investigation officer has so far failed to submit a charge-sheet, despite the fact that the court has issued 15 show-cause notices to the IO and his superiors, the DIG and SSP Investigations, directing them to ensure that the charge-sheet was submitted.

Backlog of unresolved cases

The much-publicised case of the gang-rape of a young woman who was picked up from the premises of the Mazar-i-Quaid is being similarly delayed.

The 18-year-old was kidnapped by five people on the night of March 15 and was found outside the mausoleum in a precarious condition on March 17. Despite the public concern about the case, however, the indictment in the case has been deferred three times since June 18 since the investigation officer has failed to submit the police file to the court.

The court, meanwhile, has already issued two show-cause notices to the IO directing him to submit the charge-sheet, while a third show-cause notice was issued on July 7 through the SSP Investigations.

Another high-publicity case in which the police violated the court’s orders concerns the murder of Shaikh Mohammed Azeem and his bride Beenish, who were found dead on August 11 last year, the day after their wedding.

Their bodies were discovered in their North Nazimabad apartment which lies within the limits of the Taimuria police station.

Investigation officer Khalid Khan of the New Karachi Industrial Area police station nominated the groom’s father, Shaikh Abdul Majeed, as the main accused in the case. On September 20, Mr Majeed submitted an appeal through his counsel to District and Sessions Judge (Central) Abdul Maalik. Citing Section 22-a(6)(iii)(iv) of the Criminal Procedures Code, the petitioner requested the transfer of the investigation to any other zone on the basis of his lack of confidence in the investigation process.

The investigation officer submitted an interim charge-sheet to the judicial magistrate-12 (Central) on October 27 last year, after an unexplained delay of over two months. Subsequently, the court issued many show-cause notices to the IO directing him to submit the final charge-sheet, but the officer failed to comply.

On November 24, the court directed the SSP Investigations (Central) to reinvestigate the case and submit a final charge-sheet, but to no avail. Finally, the court decided to treat the interim charge-sheet as the final one and transferred the case for further trial.

(Mr Majeed was later acquitted by the court since the parties reached an out-of-court settlement and filed a compromise application.)

Links to low conviction rate

In hundreds of cases under trial in the City Courts, police officials have violated court orders or created hurdles by causing long delays in the submission of charge-sheets. Their superiors, meanwhile, have shown little interest in the matter. The issuance of bailable and non-bailable warrants of arrest for policemen/officials who have failed to comply with court orders in a number of cases has become routine.

Legal experts believe that the police authorities’ refusal to comply with court orders is the main hurdle in the path of dispensing speedy justice to the ordinary citizen. They also blame the police for the low conviction rate prevalent in the country, pointing out that in most cases, the police have employed various tactics to deliberately delay case proceedings, which works to the advantage of the defence counsel.

Senior lawyer Mahmoodul Hasan, the president of the Karachi Bar Association, pointed out that police authorities tend to violate court orders and try to impose their own will over how the case will proceed. “But,” he told Dawn, “it is very unfortunate that the courts concerned are also reluctant to take strict legal action against the police for non-compliance, which encourages the exploitation of the common man.”

Senior police officials, including the city police chief, were not available for comment.