LAHORE: The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Tuesday issued contempt of court notices to police officials involved in the filming of suspects detained in connection with a dance party in Kasur. Justice Ali Zia Bajwa condemned the police’s actions, stating that such behavior is unacceptable in any society.
The issue arose after a video of the detained suspects went viral, prompting a plea by Wishal Shakir, represented by lawyer Mian Ali Haider. The petition argued that the LHC had previously prohibited filming detainees and called for proceedings against Kasur district officials for contempt of court.
During the hearing, Justice Bajwa questioned the District Police Officer (DPO), asking how the police allowed such footage to be recorded. “How did the police personnel gather the courage to pull the girl’s hair for a TikTok video?” the judge inquired. In response, the DPO explained that the police officers involved had been dismissed and described the incident as unfortunate.
The DPO further clarified that the event was publicly advertised on social media and not a private gathering, but Justice Bajwa maintained that the police’s actions were unacceptable.
The judge also asked whether the DPO could guarantee that such an incident would not happen again. The DPO assured the court that he had taken swift action, dismissing the officer within 48 hours and promising that similar incidents would not occur in the future.
In a further move, Justice Bajwa instructed the SHO not to appear in the next hearing and instead send the superintendent of police to address the court.
