SHC moved against lodging of FIRs against one-way violators in Karachi

The Sindh High Court on Friday issued notices to the provincial home secretary, the Sindh IG and the traffic police on a petition against registration of criminal cases against one-way violators.

The petition was filed the Pakistan Pasban through its president Altaf Shakoor, who submitted that the Karachi traffic police were illegally arresting motorists on the charge of one-way violation.

He submitted that due to “illegal orders the of home department and the IG Sindh”, the traffic police had forcibly challaned 4,765 persons and imposed a fine of Rs.11,46,650 and also handed over 163 persons to the relevant police stations after registration of FIRs against them one-way violation.

Petitioner counsel Irfan Aziz submitted that the police had so far registered 184 cases against citizens alleging them of one-way violation till January 18 and the number cases had been increasing day by day.

He submitted that not a single FIR against one-way violators had been lodged in any other district, division, town or city across Sindh except in Karachi.

The lawyer said the police and the traffic police had themselves encroached on the city by setting up illegal check-posts on roads, pavements, roundabouts. He said the police did not take action against handcarts and pushcarts set up on roads and pavements and in streets, alleging that the police would take bribe from those vendors.

He submitted that the infrastructure of the city had becoming from bad to worse with every passing day and roads were in a shambles. The lawyer said the provincial government had failed to do the needful to for the maintenance of roads due to which the city was traffic issues.

He submitted that the Rangers had constructed walls on road at Regal Chowk in Saddar area, at State Bank Flats near Skin Hospital, due to which the road had been closed for traffic. He submitted that the Sindh government had closes roads around the Sindh secretariat and on its backside near the S M Law College for traffic and for the purpose of Metro, the major portion of M.A. Jinnah Road had been closed for the last four years for the traffic.

He submitted that Ameer Khusro Road had been closed by the security agencies by putting permanent fixture on one side road while in the name of security and protocol other thoroughfares have also been closed, including service lanes..

He submitted that the police, the traffic police, security agencies and protocols of ministers would use the wrong-side of the road intentionally for crossing but not a single challan or case or FIR had been lodged against the high-ups.

The lawyer said cases could not be registered against the citizen without giving any infrastructure and facility to citizens. He submitted that the traffic police had completely failed to discharge their duties by controlling the traffic on the cross-roads and roundabouts.

He said there was need to place signs and signals on many places in the city. He submitted that the traffic police on the contrary used to be seen taking bribe from people on minor violation of the traffic rules and also lifting the vehicles in the name of no parking.

He submitted that the traffic police had also started a business in the name of lifting motorcycles and motorcars, damaging the vehicles badly, without suitably arranging any space for parking and the public visiting the government offices, the high court, the regional passport office at Saddar and NADRA office were seen requesting the police for releasing their

vehicle.

He submitted that Section 279 of the PPC was meant to register case against rash driving or riding on public way but the relevant Section was misused against drivers for one-way violation, as there was no word was provided of “wrong side” in the Section.

The court was requested to direct the police and the traffic police to immediately withdraw the FIRs lodged against the one-way violators under Section 279 of the PPC and restrain them from further proceedings.

The court was requested to direct the chief secretary to first provide infrastructure of safe, secure and usable roads without any hurdles by widening of roads, construction of new roads, putting the traffic signs and traffic signals, and remove the permanent fixtures and barriers from the roads of Karachi.