ISLAMABAD: A man who was booked by the Koral police after being spotted in a viral video of armed conflict in the suburb of the federal capital has sought quashment of the First Information Report (FIR) registered against him under various sections of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC).

Chaudhry Sudheer along with others nominated in the FIR registered in the Koral police station claimed in a petition filed in Islamabad High Court (IHC) that his negative coverage in the media had led to the registration of the FIR against him.

The video had gone viral on April 4, showing a group of people armed with automatic weapons taking possession of land.

Subsequently, the Koral police registered the FIR against the armed persons, including the petitioner, Chaudhry Sudheer.

The police registered the case against the armed persons under section 148 (rioting, armed with deadly weapon), 149 (unlawful assembly) 188 (disobedience of law) and 506 (hurling threats).

The petitioner through his counsel Raja Rizwan Abbasi contended before the IHC that he bears a good moral repute and belongs to a noble family.

The petition said the FIR was registered on April 7 on the complaint of a sub-inspector of Koral police. The complaint stated that private guards armed with weapons were having a land dispute and that the petitioner was also present there and hurled threats.

The petition said the FIR was registered without due course and under the influence of widespread media coverage. The petition cited the executive magistrate, the station house officer of Koral and others as respondents.

The counsel requested the court to quash the FIR.

IHC Justice Ghulam Azam Qambrani, after preliminary hearing, issued notice to the police authorities and adjourned hearing till April 28.

Published in Dawn, April 21st, 2021