KARACHI, June 29: A sessions court on Friday issued a show-cause notice to a police officer for what appeared to be wrongful confinement of a man at a crime monitoring divisional cell in Clifton and ordered him to produce the detainee in court on Saturday.

On a directive of a sessions court, a head bailiff raided the cell situated on the first floor of a building that houses the Gizri police station, found Mohammad Younus in ‘wrongful’ confinement and had him released on Thursday. But the police again took him away.

While issuing the show-cause notice to Sub-Inspector Haq Nawaz Phalphoto, district and sessions judge (south) Hasan Feroz observed that as per raid commissioner’s (head bailiff) report the detainee was found without any valid entry or record and was set at liberty, but the police officer has abused his power and authority as a public servant and snatched the custody of the detainee for whom writ was issued.

The officer also acted in flagrant violation of the law and committed an offence prima facie attracting Sections 345 (wrongful confinement of person for whose liberation writ has been issued), 346 (wrongful confinement in secret), 342 (punishment for wrongful confinement), 337-K (causing hurt to extort confession or to compel restoration of property), 166 (public servant disobeying law with intent to cause injury to any person) and 220 (commitment for trial or confinement by person having authority who knows that he is acting contrary to law) of the Pakistan Penal Code, he added.

The judicial officer observed: “You are, therefore, called upon to show-cause in writing on June 30 at 9:30am by making personal appearance before this case and to explain as to why inquiry in the matter should not be got conducted by judicial magistrate for appropriate action against you according to law as prima-facie you are found guilty of misconduct and gross negligence in violation of duties being public servant.”

The court also directed the police officer to produce the detainee on Saturday.

Earlier when the matter came up for hearing before the district and sessions judge on Friday, the head bailiff submitted his report in the court. The report stated that the officials of monitoring cell as well as the Gizri police failed to furnish any evidence to justify the detention of Mohammad Younus. It added that SI Haq Nawaz misbehaved with the raid commissioner while again snatching the custody of the detainee.

The applicant’s counsel argued that the man was unlawfully detained at the cell and prayed for taking legal action against police.

But SI Haq Nawaz, the officer in charge of the cell functioning under the supervision of SP Clifton, claimed that the detainee was booked under Section 13-D of the Arms Ordinance at the Baloch Colony police station.

According to the habeas corpus application filed by the detainee’s brother, Mohammad Yasin, under Section 491 of the criminal procedure code, the police had picked up Mohammad Younus near the Abdullah Shah Ghazi shrine on June 26. The applicant stated that his brother had been unlawfully detained by the police at the crime monitoring divisional cell.

He alleged that the police were demanding Rs300,000 for his brother’s release. He said he had paid Rs50,000 to the police, but failed to arrange the remaining amount and prayed to the court for the recovery of his brother.