JAVAID KHALID vs IMTIAZ SARWAR, S.H.O., POLICE STATION DINGA, DISTRICT
This criminal miscellaneous petition under Article 199 of the Constitution of Pakistan 1973 was filed for the quashment of a First Information Report registered under Section 13-B of the Arms Ordinance 1965. The core legal question was whether an F.I.R. for possession of illicit arms can be validly registered prior to the actual recovery of such arms based solely on secret information. The Lahore High Court held that a criminal case cannot be registered without the commission of an offense and the subsequent recovery of illicit arms, noting that recording an F.I.R. beforehand constitutes over-doing on the part of the police officer. Consequently, the court established the principle that setting the law in motion and registering an F.I.R. requires an offense to have already been committed, lacking which the registration of the case is without legal or factual justification. The petition was accepted and the F.I.R. was quashed.
- Whether an F.I.R. under Section 13-B of the Arms Ordinance 1965 can be registered before the actual recovery of illicit arms?
- Can the law be set in motion by registering an F.I.R. before an offense has been committed?
- Does the lack of legal or factual justification for registering a criminal case warrant the quashment of the F.I.R. under constitutional jurisdiction?
- Article 199, Constitution of Pakistan 1973
- Section 13-B, Arms Ordinance 1965
This petition under Article 199 of the Constitution, 1973 has been filed for the quashment of F.I.R.
No,361 registered on 23-10-1999 under section 13-B of the Arms Ordinance, 1965 at Police Station Dinga, District Gujrat.
2. The facts giving rise to this petition are that Imtaiz Sarwar Inspector/S.H.O. Police Station, Dinga, District Gujrat recorded F.I.R. No,361 on 23-10-1999 at 4-00 a.m. At Police Station, Dinga, District Gujrat under section 13-B of the Arms Ordinance, 1965 wherein he narrated that he received a secret information that Javed Kahlid alias Jaidi son of Mehdi Khan caste Gujjar resident of Khori Alam was in possession of a kalashnikov and other arms without licence and if a raid was effected at his house the illicit arms could be recovered. He mentioned in the F.I.R. That a case under section 13-B of the Arms Ordinance, 1965 was made out and that alongwith the police of the Police Station, Kharian and Police Station Sarai Alamgir, he was going to the spot.
3. Expressing that before the recovery of the illicit arms the case could not be registered, the petitioner filed this petition for the quashment of the F.I.R.
4. In the comments the Senior Superintendent of Police, Gujrat has admitted the factual position about the registration of the aforesaid criminal case without the recovery of the illicit arms.
However, he has taken up the stand that afterwards during the raid the illicit arms were recovered from the house of the petitioner from his possession.
5. This writ petition is admitted for regular hearing and the comments are treated as written statement.
6. I have heard the learned counsel for the petitioner as well as the learned Assistant Advocate General. I have gone through the file. There is no need to disagree with the learned counsel for the petitioner who canvassed before me that without the recovery of the illicit arms the case under section 13-B of the Arms Ordinance, 1965 could not be registered. I would simply express that it is an over-doing on the part of the Police Officer. The learned A.A.-G. Did not contest the aforesaid legal proposition. Legally the law can be set in motion after an offence is committed and then the matter is reported to the Police i,e, First Information Report is registered which is lacking in the instant matter. In this view of the matter, it can safely be held that there was no legal or factual justification for the registration of the case required and desired to be quashed through the filing of this petition.
7. For what has been said above, I accept this writ petition and quash F.I.R. No,361 registered on 23- 10-1999 under section 13-B of the Arms drdinance, 1965 at Police Station Dinga, District Gujrat.
However, I leave the parties to bear their own costs.