LAHORE:
The Superior Court of Lahore (LHC) has declared that the continuous mention of a first information report (FIR) against an individual who has been acquitted by a court is illegal and violates the dignity and fundamental rights of the person.
In the sentence, Judge Abher Gul Khan ruled that once an individual has been acquitted and that the order has reached the purpose, public authorities cannot continue to associate that person with the case. He added that doing so helps the acquittal, the presumption of innocence and the basic principles of equity and dignity.
The case was presented by Abdul Rehman Faryad, who sought the elimination of a FIR reference of his police certificate despite having been acquitted of comet flight charges by a court. He argued that the continuous mention of the FIR, particularly in a document required for trips abroad, effectively portrayed it as a criminal despite the authorization of a court.
Although he was finally issued a police certificate on March 13, 2025, he still said FIR 1254/2024 registered at the Nawan Kot Police Station, Lahore.
After a request to the Secretary of the Interior was unanswered, the petitioner approached the LHC, which initially ordered the government to respond within 15 days. When this did not happen, he presented a request for contempt.
Later, the authorities responded by citing the police rules, stating that the FIR records must be preserved for 60 years and digitally stored under rule 24.5 of the police rules, 1934, and its 2024 Punjab amendment. They argued that although the FIR could not be eliminated, its status had been updated in the police station management system to reflect the acquittal. However, the court considered this insufficient.
Judge Gul pointed out that although the maintenance of internal records for administrative purposes is legal, these records should not be used in a way that damages the rights of an individual.
“Once a defendant has been acquitted by a competent court of justice, it must be considered, in the eye of the law, absolutely acquitted of the level -level accusations against him,” said the judge.
Judge Gul ordered the Secretary of the Interior to issue a new police certificate to the petitioner, omitting all references to the FIR and precisely reflecting their acquittal and the absence of any criminal responsibility.
