Lahore:
The High Court of Lahore (LHC) said that the continued mention of a first information report (FIR) against a person who has been paid by a court is illegal and undermines dignity and fundamental rights of the person.
In the judgment, judge Abher Gul Khan judged that once a person has been acquitted and the order has reached the purpose, public authorities cannot continue to associate this person with the case. He added that this undermines the acquittal, the presumption of innocence and the basic principles of equity and dignity.
The case was carried by Abdul Rehman Faryad, who asked for the withdrawal of a FIR reference from his certificate of character of the police despite his accusations of theft of kite by a court. He argued that the continuous mention of the FIR, in particular in a document required for travel abroad, actually described it as a criminal despite the authorization of a court.
Although a certificate of character of the police was finally issued to him on March 13, 2025, he always referred to the FIR 1254/2024 registered in the Nawan Kot police station, Lahore.
After a request to the interior secretary remained unanswered, the petitioner approached the LHC, who initially ordered the government to respond within 15 days. When it did not happen, he deposited a petition for outrage.
The authorities later replied by quoting the police rules, declaring that FIR files must be preserved for 60 years and stored digitally under rule 24.5 of the police rules, 1934, and its amendment of the Punjab in 2024. They argued that even if the FIR could not be deleted, its status had been updated in the system of management of the police station However, the court noted this insufficient.
Judge Gul noted that although the internal registers for administrative purposes is legal, these files should not be used in such a way as to prejudge the rights of an individual.
“Once an accused has been acquitted by a competent court, he must be considered, in the eye of the law, entirely absolved of allegations against him,” said the judge.
Judge Gul ordered the interior secretary to issue a new certificate of character from the police to the petitioner, omitting all the references to the FIR and precisely reflecting his acquittal and the absence of any criminal responsibility.
