Karachi (Turkiye News): The Sindh High Court has ruled, in a case involving the death of a citizen in a police encounter, that a person’s criminal record does not grant police the authority to carry out extrajudicial killings.
The court heard a petition regarding the death of a missing citizen, Shah Mir, and subsequently issued a written order. The petitioner’s lawyer argued that Shah Mir was taken into custody and later killed in a staged encounter, while the government prosecutor maintained that the deceased was a habitual offender and that the case challan had already been submitted.
The court remarked that the sequence of events appears to raise serious questions about the police’s stance, noting that the petition was filed on January 15, whereas the alleged encounter took place on January 17. Referring to Article 14 of the Constitution of Pakistan, the court stated that the law guarantees every citizen protection of human dignity and freedom from torture.
The written order emphasized that it is the duty of the police to present suspects before the court, not to punish them, otherwise the very foundation of the judicial system would be undermined.
The court directed the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) to take over the investigation within its jurisdiction and proceed under the Torture and Custodial Death law. It further ordered that the investigation be completed within 30 days, and that the investigating officer record statements of the petitioner and other witnesses, while copies of the decision be sent to the relevant authorities immediately.
