LAHORE: The Punjab government has conferred the magisterial powers of special magistrates (first class) to executive field officers after certain amendments to the law from the provincial assembly.

The powers were granted to all deputy commissioners, additional deputy commissioners (general), additional deputy commissioners (revenue), additional deputy commissioners (F&P), additional deputy commissioners (headquarters) and assistant commissioners of Punjab.

The powers of special magistrate (first class) were conferred under Section 14-A of the Code of Criminal Procedure 1898 to the officers, by designation, for carrying out raids, conducting trials of offences and other ancillary matters relating to price control/hoarding prevention, forests, mines and minerals, food adulteration, food safety, encroachments on public lands and lands owned by the governments, canal and drainage, dangerous driving and violation of route permits, safety and design of buildings, land use and municipal services under any provincial/federal law in vogue, stated a notification issued by the home department on Wednesday.

An official privy to the development told Dawn that the new powers were assigned to the field officers after amendments to laws from the Punjab Assembly. He said the code of procedure was a concurrent subject which the provincial government could amend as long as the proposed amendments were not inconsistent with one or more provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure, enacted by the federal government.

Orders passed by ‘mobile courts’ appealable in district court

“The Section 14-A of the CrPC enables the provincial government to appoint special magistrates with powers of first class magistrates for the purpose of price control,” the official said.

However, quick and enforcement on the spot was not only required in the matter of price control, but also in a number of other areas as well since enforcement of local and special law was very weak in the country, including Punjab.

In the terms of regulatory enforcement, Pakistan currently stood at 105 out of 113 countries.

“The Code of Criminal Procedure (Punjab Amendment) Act, 2020 has been passed by the provincial assembly on May 11 this year, assented to by the Punjab governor on May 18 and published in official gazette as an Act of the provincial assembly of the on May 20,” the official said.

In terms of strengthening of regulatory enforcement under Section 14-A of CrPC, the amendments made included the subjects of “forests, mines and minerals, food adulteration, food safety, encroachments on public lands or lands owned by the government, canal and drainage, dangerous driving and violation of route permits, safety and design of buildings, land use and municipal services”.

This is kind of a mobile court for fixing on the spot in public interest. As special magistrates, the orders passed by them were appealable in the court of the district and sessions judge concerned, the official added. “Taking cognizance of offence, summary trial, imposition of fine and passing sentence by a mobile court for on spot fixing is the true spirit of working of a special magistrate,” he said.

District magistrate/district and sessions judge concerned will be acting as appellate authority in such cases.

Published in Dawn, June 18th, 2020