ISLAMABAD: Punjab Prosecutor General (PPG) Sadaqat Ali Khan informed the Supreme Court on Tuesday that 29,395 challans had been submitted in courts from February 22 to 25.
He said instructions had also been issued to all the prosecutors to streamline their performance/working for the purposes of submitting challans in courts, according to law. A three-member bench headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry and comprising Justice Khilji Arif Hussain and Justice Tariq Parvez heard Criminal Miscellaneous No 58-L of 2012 in Criminal Petition No 1000-L of 2011 (Ali Nawaz Versus The State, etc).The PPG, Additional Inspector General (Investigation) M Aslam Tareen, DSP (Legal) Rana M Anwar and DSP (Legal) Mirza Qamar Zaman appeared before the bench on the court’s notices. During the hearing, the CJP, while expressing concern over the delay in the submission of challans, observed that prisoners were detained in jails for long and police refused to submit their challans without bribe.Justice Khilji Arif Hussain said that it was a matter of great concern that the guardians of law were flouting the law.
Tareen stated that all possible resources would be utilised to ensure that challans were submitted before courts in time. He said the Provincial Police Officer had appointed DIG Major Mubashirullah to conduct a thorough inquiry as to why challan in the instant case was subjected to 43 objections. The court noted that on the last hearing, a member of the Lahore High Court inspection team pointed out that the police officials forged the signatures of Lahore Cantt Civil Judge Saifullah Tarar to show that the accused had been produced in the court for a judicial remand, but the fact remains that the accused was never brought from jail, as we got procured his attendance and inquired from him about the said fact. The jail record, however, indicated that he was produced in the court.
The court directed the Punjab PPO to include this aspect of the matter in terms of reference of the inquiry, if the same has already not been added, which has been assigned to Major Mubashirullah to fix the responsibility upon the police officials or the jail authorities and if any other official or paralegal staff is found involved in the same, their names should also be put on record for the purposes of further action, if need be. No one appeared on behalf of the Inspector General (Prisons), Punjab, to submit the report in respect of the condition of the prisons throughout the province and immediate measures being taken to accommodate the prisoners. The court reissued notice in the case and adjourned the hearing for two weeks. – Dailytimes
