SC won't allow police to make court premises hunting ground
Pakistan
Detailed SC order on PTI chief’s arrest in IHC emphasises fundamental right of access to justice
ISLAMABAD (Web Desk) – The Supreme Court, in its detailed order on PTI chief’s arrest on the premises of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) on May 9, said that granting relief to a suspect was a routine practice “to enforce his fundamental rights of access to justice and liberty by ensuring his unobstructed access to a competent court”.
The Supreme Court on Friday night released the detailed order giving reasons for setting the PTI chief free.
The apex court also warned the law-enforcement agencies against arresting someone from within the premises of a court, especially after their surrender.
The three-member SC bench, comprising Chief Justice of Pakistan Umar Ata Bandial, Justice Mohammad Ali Mazhar and Justice Athar Minallah, declared PTI chief’s arrest illegal on May 9 and ordered his release from the custody of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB).
The PTI chief was taken into custody and was on an eight-day physical remand with NAB in connection with a £190 million Al-Qadir Trust (AQT) corruption case.
Discussing PTI chief’s case, the bench was of the view that “if the petitioner’s arrest from the high court’s premises is endorsed, his application for pre-arrest bail filed in the AQT case before that court will be rendered futile notwithstanding the fact that he surrendered before the high court and invoked its jurisdiction”.
“This will not only deprive the petitioner of his right to access a competent court to safeguard his Fundamental Right of liberty but will also invite police officials/investigating agencies to treat court premises as hunting grounds for capturing accused persons, especially when the latter seek judicial oversight of their pending arrests,” the judgement said, adding, “It would encourage police high-handedness and thereby expose courts to executive machinations in the future.”
Such a narrow interpretation of the fundamental right of access to justice cannot be approved by this court and so is categorically rejected, the apex court ruled.
The apex court ruled that it “treated the fundamental right of access to justice to encompass in it the right to invoke the court’s jurisdiction for appropriate relief. Assuring a person unimpeded access to the court when he/she has commenced the process of availing a judicial remedy effectively blocks preemptive executive action that attempts to curtail that person’s liberty and his/her right of access to justice”.
Accordingly, the petitioner’s arrest from the biometric verification room of the high court is declared to be invalid and unlawful on the touchstone of violating his fundamental rights under articles 4, 9 and 10A of the Constitution, the court declared.
Subsequently, the apex court decided to “reverse the clock and ordered the police to produce him before the high court so that his pre-arrest bail application in the AQT case may be heard by the high court for decision,” the judgement said.
This court was of the considered view that only such a course of action would caution police officials and investigating agencies to abstain from similar conduct in the future, that infringes both the dignity, sanctity and safety of the courts and the fundamental right of the citizens of Pakistan to enjoy liberty in accordance with law.
