ISLAMABAD: A court has directed the police not to seal any FIR as it was illegal and against basic fundamental rights of a suspect as well as the complainant.

The court also ruled that withholding of the copy of an FIR was against the basic fundamental rights guaranteed by the Constitution.

The order was issued by Judicial Magistrate (West) Rana Mujahid Rahim after PPP Senator Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar approached him seeking direction to the police to provide him a copy of the FIR registered against him at the Margalla police station.

Judicial magistrate issues direction on application of PPP Senator Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar

On June 10, the police registered the case against Mr Khokhar and a number of PPP workers on the charge of resisting the arrest of former president Asif Ali Zardari by National Accountability Bureau (NAB), attacking the police and damaging public property.

When Mr Khokhar approached the Margalla police for the copy of the FIR to apply for bail, the police told him that the FIR had been sealed on the directives of their senior officers.

When contacted, Senator Khokhar told Dawn that NAB had arrested the former president at 5pm on June 10 and taken him away from his house at 5:15pm. But according to the FIR the allegation leveled against Mr Khokhar had occurred at 4:30pm and the case was registered at 4:50pm.

“This shows that the case was registered before the occurrence of the incident as mentioned in the FIR,” he said.

Mr Khokhar said: “There is no provision in the law to seal an FIR.”

Later, the senator approached the judicial magistrate seeking his direction to the police to provide him the copy of the FIR.

In response, the magistrate issued an order on June 14 stating: “It was communicated to the court that FIR has been sealed on the directives of the DIG. Undoubtedly, the police have to furnish a copy of the FIR to the area magistrate which has not been submitted yet,” it added.

“It would be in fitness of things to remind the SHO concerned, and higher officers that the police has no authority to seal an FIR,” it said, adding “sealing of an FIR was always ill motivated just to secure the arrest of accused persons at will without providing them an opportunity to exercise their rights u/s 498-CrPC.”

Moreover, withholding of the copy of an FIR is against the basic fundamental rights guaranteed by the Constitution.

“In view thereof, the SHO concerned is directed to submit copy of the FIR before the court and further directed to provide copes to the accused or complainant whenever approached by them.”

Published in Dawn, June 19th, 2019