Notices issued by PHC in petition on judge’s powers to order FIR registration

PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court (PHC) has issued notice to provincial government in a writ petition challenging the powers of the district and sessions judges in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to register First Information Reports (FIRs) under the Justice of Peace provisions of Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC).

The petitioner submitted to the high court that powers of the sessions judges to order registration of the FIRs under Section 22-A of the CrPC had become redundant after the enactment of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Right to Public Services Act, 2014.

A division bench comprising Justice Yahya Afridi and Justice Roohul Amin
Khan issued the notice to the provincial government for submission of comments in the case. The court also sought the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa advocate general assistance on the legal point raised by the petitioner. The petition was filed by Greenstar Social Marketing area manager Uzair Khan through his lawyer Noor Alam Khan.

He had challenged an order of an additional district and sessions judge, Mardan. It was about the registration of an FIR against him and two other persons for alleged breach of trust. The order was made on the complaint of a distribution company.

The petitioner prayed the court to declare that after enactment of KP Right to Public Services Act, the district and sessions judges could no longer exercise powers of the 'Justice of Peace' under the Criminal Procedure Code.

During the course of hearing, counsel for the petitioner submitted that a prominent distribution company used to distribute the products in different areas. He contended that one of the representatives of the distribution company had stored some of their products with two shopkeepers. The shopkeepers had claimed that they did not need those products in bulk.

The counsel said a dispute had arisen between the distribution company and his enterprise over payment of the disputed items. The company had approached the additional district and sessions judge under Section 22-A of CrPC. The court had order registration of an FIR on August 5, this year, after which an FIR was registered at the relevant police station in Mardan, said the lawyer.

He pointed out that the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government had enacted the KP Right to Public Services Act in 2014. Under the said law different public services had been notified which also included registration of the FIR.