PESHAWAR: A resident of Peshawar on Wednesday moved the Peshawar High Court challenging the restrictions placed by the National Judicial (Policy Making) Committee on the powers of judicial officers across the country, including Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Petitioner Asmatullah requested the court to declare illegal and without jurisdiction the March 11 decision of the National Judicial (Policy Making) Committee insisting that without amending Section 22-A of the Code of Criminal Procedure, restricting the powers of the Justice of Peace was an unauthorised interference by the respondents, including the committee.

The districts and sessions judges (DSJ) and additional district and sessions judges (ADSJ) have been exercising powers of ‘Justice of Peace’ under Section 22-A (6) and Section 25 CrPC since an amendment was made in the law in 2002.

Peshawar resident insists move illegal until CrPC Section 22-A amended

Under the said provision, these judicial officers are empowered to order registration of an FIR over a complaint if the police officer concerned declines to register the same.

They can also order transfer of investigation of a case from one police officer to another.

The NJPMC in its meeting on Mar 11 had resolved that since a Police Complaint Redressal Mechanism, as per recommendations of the Police Reforms Committee, has been operationalised at district level in all over Pakistan, which is headed by SP (superintendent of police) Complaints and therefore, applications under Section 22-A CrPC may not be entertained by the courts unless they are accompanied by decision of the relevant district SP (complaints).

Following the said decision the lawyers community on the call of Pakistan Bar Council observed two-day strike on Mar 20 and 21 and subsequently they have been boycotting courts proceedings across the country on every Thursday demanding withdrawal of the said decision.

The respondents in the petition are the Ministry of law and justice through its secretary, Law and Justice Commission of Pakistan through its secretary, Attorney General for Pakistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government through chief secretary, all the district and sessions judges in Peshawar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa IGP, Peshawar Capital City Police Officer, and DIG (Operation), Peshawar.

The petition is filed by senior advocate Noor Alam Khan saying the NJPMC was constituted through an ordinance in 2002 where the chief justice of Pakistan was the chairman and other chief justice of high courts as well as the Federal Shariat Court as its members.

The petitioner states that that the task of NJPMC was to coordinate and harmonise the judicial policy within the court system.

He said 22-A CrPC was part of an enacted law and under the Constitution, only Parliament or a provincial assembly was empowered to add or amend the 22-AZ CrPC as well as powers of Justice of Peace.

The petitioners said under the said section, an aggrieved person could easily get justice by approaching the Justice of Peace for registration of a criminal case.

Published in Dawn, April 4th, 2019