SHC orders IGP to take action against policeman for 'tarnishing force’s image'

KARACHI: The Sindh High Court (SHC) has asked the inspector general of police (IGP) Sindh to conduct an inquiry into whether disciplinary proceedings should be initiated against a police sub-inspector after the court found that he had violated the privacy of a woman during a raid and, in the judge’s words, damaged the image of the force.

The order was passed by a single-judge bench headed by Justice Omar Sial in proceedings arising from an application filed by Rehana through her lawyer after a trial court dismissed her post-arrest bail plea in March in a case linked to allegations that a brothel was being operated in Gulshan-i-Hadeed.

Court observations on raid

According to the order, the court questioned sub-inspector Mohammad Hasan, the complainant in the case, about the authority under which he entered a private residence and also went into the bedroom of a couple. The bench said neither the officer nor the additional prosecutor general was able to properly justify the action, apart from what the court described as a weak claim that the police had received spy information that the house was being used as a brothel.

The order also noted that the additional prosecutor general attempted to explain the matter by saying the first information report had incorrectly stated that the officer entered the house and that, in fact, the applicant had been arrested outside the residence.

"There is not an iota of doubt in my mind that SI Hasan has blatantly violated the proverbial ‘chadar and chaar deewari’ without any justification," the bench said in its written observations.

Justice Sial also remarked in the order that while many Sindh police personnel were laying down their lives to protect people and property in the province, actions of the kind attributed to the sub-inspector were harming the standing of the police.

"I am saddened to see that on the one hand, brave and valiant officers of the Sindh police are giving their lives to protect the life and property of Sindh citizens while on the other hand, officers like SI Hasan, tarnish the force reputation. The inspector general of police, Sindh is requested to conduct an enquiry to determine whether disciplinary action should be initiated against SI Hasan. The reputation of the Sindh police must be protected at all costs," he stated.

Arguments before the court

Counsel for the applicant argued that Rehana had been implicated by SI Hasan for not meeting what the lawyer called an undue demand. The defence further contended that the allegations did not attract the offences cited in the FIR.

The lawyer also argued that the raiding party had breached Section 103 of the Criminal Procedure Code, which relates to searches being conducted in the presence of witnesses and with the occupant of the premises being allowed to attend. It was additionally submitted that there had been no complaint from neighbours regarding the alleged activity and that the applicant had no criminal record.

Case background and bail status

The prosecution had earlier stated that police raided a house in Gulshan-i-Hadeed in February after receiving information that a brothel was being run there. Rehana was arrested along with a man identified as Ramzan and a woman named Shabana.

The case was registered at Steel Town police station under Sections 371-A, 371-B and 34 of the Pakistan Penal Code.

During the hearing, the additional prosecutor general informed the court that the trial court had already granted bail to the applicant. On that basis, the SHC disposed of the pending bail application as infructuous, while separately asking the IGP Sindh to look into the conduct of the officer concerned.