KARACHI: The Sindh Bar Council (SBC) on Monday expressed reservations over a decision recently made by the National Judicial Policy Making Committee (NJPMC) to empower police to decide applications regarding registration of FIRs instead of approaching the courts first and urged the NJPMC to review and withdraw the decision.

It maintained that major changes to civil/criminal procedure and the justice system should only be made after consulting necessary stakeholders, including bar councils and associations, adding that such changes could only be made through parliament.

The SBC in a statement said that its executive committee met on Monday presided over by its vice chairman Ziaul Hasan Lanjar and deliberated on the recent decision of the NJPMC in which it was decided that applications under Section 22-A of CrPC should not be entertained by courts unless accompanied by a decision of the relevant district SP.

It contended that the decision was contrary to the law and was not in the public interest and, adding that a five-judge bench of the Supreme Court had held in Younas Abbas verses sessions judge Chakwal (PLD 2016 SC 581) that the power of justice of peace to direct the police to register a criminal case under Section 21-A of CrPC was not administrative, executive or ministerial in nature, but possessed a judicial character.

“Moreover, when Section 22-A of CrPC itself does not lay down any precondition to filing or entertainment of a case there-under, it is not possible for a policymaking body like the NJPMC to impose such a precondition by adding or supplementing the language of the statute. Such a change could only [be] brought through a legislative change by parliament,” it added.

The statement further said that the refusal by police to lodge a case was one of the common grievances of public and to deprive such people without a remedy in courts and leave them at the mercy of the district SPs was unjust and hindered their right to access to justice.

It pointed out that the NJPMC had not given any timeline to the SPs concerned for passing a decision on an application for registration of FIR and therefore, an aggrieved citizen could be forced to wait for months while his or her application was pending before the SP (complaint cell), but the applicant could not be able to approach the court until the SP passed an order on it.

“Making such major decisions unilaterally without seeking the input of the legal fraternity creates mistrust and unnecessary problems in the administration of justice and should be avoided,” it added.

The SBC unanimously resolved to place such reservation before the chief justice of Pakistan, who heads the NJPMC, and members of the body for immediate review and withdrawal of its directives issued on March 11.

Published in Dawn, March 19th, 2019