LAHORE:
The Lahore High Court (LHC) has declared that continued mention of a First Information Report (FIR) against an individual who has been acquitted by a court is unlawful and infringes on the person’s dignity and fundamental rights.
In the judgment, Justice Abher Gul Khan ruled that once an individual has been acquitted and the order has attained finality, public authorities cannot continue to associate that person with the case. He added that doing so undermines the acquittal, the presumption of innocence, and the basic principles of fairness and dignity.
The case was brought by Abdul Rehman Faryad, who sought the removal of an FIR reference from his police character certificate despite being acquitted of kite flying charges by a court. He argued that the continued mention of the FIR, particularly in a document required for overseas travel, effectively portrayed him as a criminal despite a court’s clearance.
Although a police character certificate was eventually issued to him on March 13, 2025, it still referenced FIR 1254/2024 registered at Nawan Kot Police Station, Lahore.
After an application to the Home Secretary went unanswered, the petitioner approached the LHC, which initially directed the government to respond within 15 days. When this failed to happen, he filed a contempt petition.
Authorities later responded by citing Police Rules, stating that FIR records must be preserved for 60 years and stored digitally under Rule 24.5 of the Police Rules, 1934, and its 2024 Punjab amendment. They argued that while the FIR could not be deleted, his status had been updated in the Police Station Record Management System to reflect the acquittal. However, the court found this insufficient.
Justice Gul noted that while internal record-keeping for administrative purposes is lawful, such records must not be used in a manner that prejudices an individual’s rights.
“Once an accused has been acquitted by a competent court of law, he is to be considered, in the eye of the law, entirely absolved of the allegations levelled against him,” the judge stated.
Justice Gul ordered the Home Secretary to issue a fresh police character certificate to the petitioner, omitting all references to the FIR and accurately reflecting his acquittal and the absence of any criminal liability.
