PESHAWAR: Peshawar High Court has ordered Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government to remove number plates affixed to private vehicles by owners carrying names of any department, profession or member of a particular community.

A single-member bench of Justice Ishtiaq Ibrahim ordered that no number plate showing profession and community of the owner of the vehicle should be allowed to be affixed to any private vehicle.

The bench issued the order while hearing bail plea of a suspect in a narcotics trafficking case, who had affixed a plate with the name “Member Peshawar High Court Bar Council” to his Vigo double-cabin vehicle.

The bench rejected bail plea of the suspect named Sikander Azam and observed that none of the suspects in the said vehicle was member of any bar association or bar council. The suspects in the garb of fake number plate of legal profession were trying to transport narcotics but they were apprehended by police, the bench observed.

Court rejects bail plea in narcotics case

The bench expressed concern over the matter and observed that in so many cases smugglers and criminals affixed fake number plates to their vehicles to be used in trafficking narcotics and other crimes.

By using the names of various departments such as health, judiciary, lawyers, police and excise departments, they wanted to save their skin from law enforcement agencies during search, it added.

The bench observed that it was right time to curb that illegal practice with iron hand as it tended to tarnish the dignity of relevant department or profession.

“In this view of the matter, it is directed that all those persons having affixed number plates of any department/profession to their private vehicles, irrespective of the fact whether he is or is not the employee of such department or member of any such community or profession, be strictly proceeded under the relevant laws and henceforth removed such number plates from such vehicles,” the bench ordered.

The bench directed that it was needless to mention that each and every vehicle whether official or private, should only bear the number plate issued to it by the government.

The bench directed the additional registrar of high court to send copy of the order to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chief secretary, inspector general of police, secretary and director general excise and taxation department, director general prosecution and secretary Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Bar Council for compliance.

The petitioner wad charged in an FIR registered at Choora police station, Mardan, on Sept 5, 2023, under section 11-C of KP Control of Narcotics Substance Act.

Barrister Mohammad Shah, an additional advocate general, stated that officials of the said police station had information about smuggling of narcotics in a vehicle having number plate with the name of “Member Peshawar High Court Bar Council” from Malakand towards Swabi.

He stated that police put a cordon on the road and stopped the vehicle in question wherein the driver disclosed his name as Khanpur and the petitioner was sitting beside him on the front seat.

He contended that police recovered ice drug from possession of the two suspects as well as from a polythene bag concealed in the vehicle. He added that the total quantity of the contraband was more than three kilograms.

He said that the petitioner was caught red-handed while carrying narcotics in a vehicle having fake number plate. He added that report of forensic science laboratory also supported the prosecution case.

Published in Dawn, November 8th, 2023