LAHORE: The Lahore High Court on Tuesday directed the Punjab Police to ensure a quick submission of challans (investigation reports) in pending criminal cases after it was told that the pendency of the reports had been reduced from 380,294 to 20,979.

In a hearing of a bail petition by an accused in a narcotics case, the police officials appeared before Chief Justice Aalia Neelum and presented a detailed report regarding submission of challans under section 173 of CrPC.

The report stated that 9,913 cases were pending in Lahore, while Faisalabad had 10,975 cases. It said other districts like Rawalpindi, Multan and Nankana Sahib had far fewer pending challans.

The report said the main reasons associated with the remaining pending reports included a large number of cases having unknown accused, change of investigation, arrested accused on physical remand, and pending forensic reports.

It also stated that the offices of the inspector general of police, the secretary prosecution, the prosecutor general, and the PITB have been actively engaged in reinforcing the importance of establishing a whistle-blowing mechanism.

The report said the PITB confirmed the integration developed in FIR data between police and the prosecution, along with confirming that the whistle-blowing, alerts generation and escalation mechanism has been received by them from the police department, and that they have started the development work.

The chief justice asked the prosecution department about how many challans had been received from the police and submitted to the relevant courts. The department was instructed to prepare a detailed report on this and present it at the next hearing.

Additionally, the chief justice ordered the police to submit a report on remaining pending challans and provide updates on the system’s progress.

Chief Justice Neelum had taken a notice of inordinate delays in trial proceedings of the criminal cases due to pending challans.

The hearing was adjourned till Oct 17.

REPORT SOUGHT: The Lahore High Court on Tuesday sought reports from the ministry of interior and the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) on a petition challenging the agency’s authority to place individuals on the Passport Control List (PNIL).

Chief Justice Aalia Neelum heard the petition filed by Munir Ahmed, a lawyer, through Advocate Azhar Siddique.

The CJ directed the respondents to submit reports on the individuals whose names have been added to the PNIL.

The counsel argued that the FIA does not have the legal authority to issue such notifications for including names in the PNIL. He highlighted that there is no existing legal framework governing the PNIL, which could prevent citizens from traveling abroad.

The hearing was adjourned for 10 days.

HONEY-TRAP: An anti-terrorism court has partially allowed an application of playwright Khalilur Rehman Qamar and directed the police to return the registration book of his car recovered from the suspects involved in his alleged kidnapping through a “honey-trap”.

Qamar’s lawyer Mudassir Chaudhry asked the court that the playwright’s money and the car’s registration book be returned to him.

He argued that the police had recovered Rs240,000 and the car’s registration book from the suspects, who had withdrawn the amount from the complainant’s bank account using his ATM.

A prosecutor opposed the release of the seized money and car, arguing that the case was still pending and the items should remain with the police until the investigation was complete.

However, the prosecutor agreed that the car’s registration book could be handed over to the complainant.

ATC-III Judge Arshad Javed issued an order on the application, allowing the request to the extent of return of the car’s registration book.

The suspects in the case, including Amna Arooj, Hassan Shah, and Rafiq alias Feeki are in judicial custody. They have been charged with the kidnapping of the playwright.

Published in Dawn, October 2nd, 2024