ISLAMABAD: The Su­­preme Court office on Tuesday returned a petition seeking the issuance of a directive to police to prevent leakage of video clips or pictures in social media forums pertaining to a recent scam at the Islamia University, Bahawalpur (IUB).

The petition, filed by Zulfikar Ahmed Bhutta, invoked Article 184(3) of the Constitution with a plea that the police investigation team be ordered to ensure that the recovered video clips and pictures were not leaked or aired through internet and social media platforms.

The petition was filed after a spate of allegations in the media recently that drugs were being sold openly to students at the university and that unidentified elements were involved in harassment of female students.

Preliminary investigations had also revealed the existence of a large cache of objectionable videos and images of female students, the petitioner said.

The petition was declared not entertainable by the registrar’s office with objections that the petitioner had invoked extraordinary jurisdiction of the Supreme Court under Article 184(3) of the Constitution for redress of an individual grievance. This was not permissible under the law, the registrar said.

“Multifarious prayers have been raised in the petition in which the petitioner has not pointed out what questions of public importance are involved with reference to the enforcement of fundamental rights so that the jurisdiction of Supreme Court is invoked directly under Article 184(3) of the Constitution,” the registrar’s note further said.

Moreover, the petitioner has not approached any other forum available under the law for the same relief and has also not provided any justification for not doing so, the registrar’s office said.

Transparency and fairness

In his petition, Zulfikar Bhutta pleaded that in view of the alleged involvement of IUB officials, it was the desire of teachers and students that judicial oversight be ensured and that “transparency and fairness” should be maintained throughout the investigation.

The petition had also sought issuance of a directive that any officer concerned with the investigation, including the Punjab police chief and FIA was not suspended, transfer­red or withdrawn without permission from the Supreme Court.

The judicial commission set up by the Punjab government on July 31 should be told to stop its work until the completion of investigations by police and FIA, the petitioner said.

Published in Dawn, August 9th, 2023