PESHAWAR: A social enterprise’s representative has moved the Peshawar High Court against the powers of the district and sessions judges in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to register FIRs under the Justice of Peace provisions of Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) insisting those powers have become redundant after the enactment of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Right to Public Services Act, 2014.

The petition was filed by Greenstar Social Marketing area manager Uzair Khan challenging an order of an additional district and sessions judge, Mardan, regarding the registration of an FIR against him and two other persons for alleged breach of trust on the complaint of a distribution company.

He prayed the court to declare that after enactment of KP Right to Public Services Act, the district and sessions judges could no longer exercise powers of the ‘justice of peace’ under the Code of Criminal Procedure.

The petitioner claimed that a prominent distribution company had been distributing the products of his enterprise in different areas.

Social enterprise’s staffer challenges Mardan judge’s order to book three for breach of trust

He added that one of the representatives of the distribution company had dumped some of their products with two shopkeepers, while those shopkeepers had claimed that they did not need those products in such a large quantity.

The petitioner said a dispute had arisen between the distribution company and his enterprise over payment of the disputed items.

He added that the company had earlier approached the Dispute Resolution Council in Mardan, which had turned down its request.

The petitioner said the company had approached the additional district and sessions judge under Section 22-A of CrPC and the court had order registration of an FIR on Aug 5, 2017, after which an FIR was registered at the relevant police station in Mardan.

The petitioner said the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government had enacted the KP Right to Public Services

Act (RPSA) in 2014, and under the said law different public services had been notified which also included registration of FIR.

The petition filed through senior advocate Noor Alam Khan states that under section 4 of the said Act the provincial government has to specify any service as public service by notifying it in the official gazette.

It added that the government has also to specify time limit in which the said services have to be provided by the designated officer to the eligible person.

The petitioner said Section 5 of the Act provides that it shall be mandatory ion designated officer to provide public service within the specified time and in case the officer fails to do so the applicant can file an appeal to the appellate authority.

He said in case the appellate authority failed to address his grievances then the applicant could move the Right to Services Commission.

The petitioner said in the official notification, the registration of FIR was mentioned at serial No 1 and the specified period for registration of an FIR is forthwith by an SHO of the concerned police station.

He states that in case the SHO does not register the FIR a complainant could file an appeal before the District Police Officer (DPO).

He said the RPSA had been given overriding effect over other relevant laws in the field, which meant that after enactment of this Act the laws which empowered other authorities to address grievance of a person regarding non-registration of an FIR, had become redundant.

Published in Dawn, November 7th, 2017