LAHORE: The Lahore High Court (LHC) has observed that computerisation and digitisation of the Punjab Police department’s record has opened floodgates for fabrication and alteration, resulting in violations of the fundamental rights of both the complainants and the accused in the cases.

LHC judge justice Ali Zia Bajwa, while converting a criminal miscellaneous plea into a writ petition, expressed his utter displeasure and strong annoyance over sorry state of affairs when he found out numerous complaints about tampering with the provincial police record even after the department introduced computerisation and digitisation of its system.

In his strongly-worded decision, the LHC judge raised questions over the transparency and reliability of the police’s computerisation mechanism during a hearing the other day, where the Punjab Information Technology Board (PITB) chairman and some senior police officers also appeared.

The PITB Punjab chairman defended his department’s position regarding the tampering with the police record and submitted an affidavit.

“The PITB chairman submitted an affidavit asserting that the Board [PITB] holds no responsibility for any alterations in the computerised registers once the Punjab police have entered the data,” reads the LHC judge’s order.

In the affidavit, the PITB chairman said the Board’s duty was only to ensure the system’s security, safeguarding it from threats such as cyber attacks.

“The affidavit further reveals that a substantial sum of Rs549 million has been expended to date on the computerisation of the police stations of Punjab,” reads the LHC order.

However, the affidavit doesn’t definitively assert that alteration in the police records is impossible.

The LHC judge says that an affidavit has also been submitted by the Punjab police DIG (IT) which too fails to provide any assurance that the alterations in the police record are indeed impossible.

The judge states in the order that in certain police registers changes or additions are mandated by law and can’t be prohibited. Conversely, other registers strictly forbid any subsequent alterations under the law and such changes can’t be permitted under the guise of digitisation, the order says.

“The substantial expenditure of public funds has paradoxically undermined the transparency and fairness of the criminal justice system,” reads the LHC order.

Justice Bajwa also raised another important aspect, stating that the court has observed in numerous cases that during the digitisation the police records have not been maintained in accordance with the Punjab Police rules 1934.

“This alarming trend highlights a troubling disregard for established protocols, undermining the integrity and reliability of the police documentations,” declares the LHC.

It states that the cherished principles of transparency and accountability are thus gravely compromised, casting aspersions on the sanctity of the criminal justice system “Given the foregoing, and recognising the matter’s profound public interest, this court is compelled to convert this criminal miscellaneous [plea] into a writ petition,” reads the LHC order.

Justice Bajwa declares that the high court possesses ample power to transform one kind of proceeding into another, in the larger interest of justice.

“This power ensures that the essence of fairness prevails, allowing the court to adapt the legal process to best serve the cause of justice and equity,” reads the court order.

The LHC adjourned the case proceedings till Thursday (tomorrow).

Published in Dawn, July 17th, 2024