Criminal record of citizen does not justify extrajudicial killings by police: SHC

KARACHI: The Sindh High Court (SHC) on Saturday ruled that a citizen’s criminal record cannot justify extrajudicial killing by police.

The court issued a written order while hearing a petition regarding the alleged killing of a missing citizen in an alleged staged police encounter.

During the proceedings, the petitioner’s counsel argued that the victim, Shah Mir, was taken into police custody and later killed in a fake encounter.

In response, the state prosecutor claimed that the deceased was a habitual offender and that the challan in the case had already been submitted before a trial court.

However, the court observed that the sequence of events appeared to support the allegation that the encounter was suspicious. According to the record, the petition was filed on January 15, while the alleged encounter took place on January 17.

The SHC emphasized that under Article 14 of the Constitution of Pakistan, the dignity of man and protection against torture are guaranteed.

It stated that the police are responsible for presenting suspects before a court of law rather than acting as judge, jury, and executioner.

The court warned that allowing such actions would undermine the very purpose of the judicial system.

Referring to the Torture and Custodial Death (Prevention and Punishment) Act, the court ruled that investigations in such cases fall under the jurisdiction of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), and ordered that the inquiry be immediately transferred to the agency.

The SHC further directed the FIA to complete the investigation within 30 days in accordance with the law, and to record statements of the petitioner and other witnesses.