- Justice Tariq Mehmood Jahangiri issues a 41-page decision on a plea filed by Sh Rashid against registration of multiple cases
ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court on Saturday ruled that no FIR can be registered for an offense outside the jurisdiction of the respective police station and termed such a practice violation of the law as determined by the Supreme Court.
While issuing a detailed verdict on the plea against the registration of cases in different regions against former Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid for an offense committed in Islamabad Polyclinic, the court emphasized that constitutional courts must protect citizens’ rights.
IHC’s Justice Tariq Mehmood Jahangiri issued a 41-page verdict on a plea filed by Awami Muslim League (AML) Sheikh Rashid against the registration of cases in Karachi’s Mochkaa and Lasbela police stations and dismissed all cases.
These cases were filed against Sh Rashid for derogatory language against Pakistan People’s Party Chairman Bilawal Bhutto.
In it’s verdict, the court declared that the incident involving Sheikh Rashid took place at the Islamabad Polyclinic, thus falling under its jurisdiction while the cases against Sheikh Rashid were registered in different region including Karachi’s Mochkaa and Lasbela police stations.
The court underscored that it was a well-settled principle of law that a person could not be prosecuted multiple times for the same offence.
On June 25, the IHC dismissed the case filed against the Awami Muslim League (AML) chief in February last year for using offensive words against the PPP chief. The FIR was registered by Karachi’s Mochkaa police station in Keamari on a complaint of a local PPP leader.
The high court expressed regret over the fact that political parties, while in power, often lodge baseless cases against their political opponents, filing multiple cases for the same charge in different parts of the country, according to the verdict.
It added that this practice of harassing and torturing political opponents was a blatant violation of established laws of the land.
The detailed verdict further said that apart from the relevant police station, no other FIR could be registered for a single incident.
“It is the constitutional courts’ responsibility to protect citizens’ rights. In Sheikh Rashid’s case, the incident occurred at Polyclinic Hospital in Islamabad, hence the court exercised its jurisdiction over it,” the verdict read.
The decision criticized the practice of political parties filing frivolous cases against opponents, noting that such actions undermine democracy and the rule of law. The court stressed that political opponents are often subjected to harassment through multiple cases filed across different regions for the same offense, which is a violation of the law as determined by the Supreme Court.
The judgment highlighted that judicial assistants and police officials confirmed that FIRs of the incidents in Islamabad are invalid in other provinces.
Following this, petitioners withdrew their applications.
The court noted that a case was filed against Sheikh Rashid in Karachi’s Mochkaa and Lasbela police stations for derogatory remarks about Bilawal Bhutto, made while he was at the polyclinic in Islamabad. The police acknowledged that the incident was rooted in Islamabad, and thus, there was no valid reason for registration of a case in Karachi. However, the police official refrained from making an official statement due to the involvement of the PPP chairman.
Referencing the Supreme Court’s Sugra Bibi case, the judgment reiterated that the same incident cannot be registered in different locations.
