LAHORE: The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Friday summoned the Kasur district police officer (DPO) in a contempt of court case related to the arrest of boys and girls at a dance party and the circulation of their video on social media.
Justice Ali Zia Bajwa heard the contempt petition filed by Vishal Shakir, a lawyer, against the Kasur DPO.
Advocate Mian Ali Haider appeared on behalf of the petitioner and stated that he had attached evidence related to the Kasur video scandal with the petition but the registrar office refused to accept the material.
Justice Bajwa allowed the counsel to attach the material, saying the court would hear the petition even with office objections.
Reiterates that no official is allowed to record, post videos of detainees on social media
A provincial law officer told the court that he had seen the video and it was extremely distressing as the detainees were exposed to the entire world. He suggested that a report from the police be summoned in the case.
The judge remarked, “Their (detainees) entire future has been ruined. A notice should also be issued to the Prosecutor General of Punjab in this case.”
He noted that the court had earlier ordered that arrested suspects must not be exposed to the media. He reiterated that no government official was allowed to record or upload videos of detainees on social media.
The judge summoned the Kasur DPO to appear personally on April 14 over the issue of the viral video.
The petitioner contended that the LHC had prohibited the filming of detainees in custody. He asked the court to initiate contempt proceedings against the DPO, DSP, and SHO concerned for violating the order.
It is worth noting that on April 6, during a raid at a farmhouse in Kasur, 25 women and 30 men were arrested over allegations of obscene dancing, use of loudspeakers and drug consumption. The local police recorded the video of the arrested persons and uploaded it on social media, which led to severe criticism from civil society and other segments.
Following the incident, the Kasur DPO had suspended two police officials from Mustafabad Police Station.
Published in Dawn, April 12th, 2025
