A magisterial court issued warning to Shahdara Town police over nabbing 13 innocent youngsters under the charges of vagrancy, saying police must protect constitutional rights of citizens.
Appearing before the local court on Monday, Advocate Usama Khawar Ghumman represented 13 young men who were apprehended by Shahdara police on the night of June 14, 2021 under charges of vagrancy. In fact, these innocent guys came from a village to visit Lahore but were booked by the Shahdara police for nothing but to mint money.
Advocate Ghuman apprised the court that after keeping the kids in illegally custody for several hours, the police allegedly released one boy after he was able to pay the bribe while the rest were booked under Section 55 of Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC), which gives powers to the police to vagrant, homeless, and who has no ostensible means of subsistence.
He argued that during the course of this day after confining the 12 young men in scorching heat, the police has brought them before the local judicial magistrate.
After hearing the argument of Advocate Usama Khawar the magistrate Ijaz Sanaullah Khan issued release orders of all the young men and issued warning to police to refrain from taking illegal custody of innocent persons.
According to Advocate Usama Khawar Ghumman, who pursued the illegal confinement of the young inmates, “Section 55 of the CrPC 1898 is a colonial legacy. It was meant to control the natives by the colonialists. It is anti-poor. It has no place in a modern, constitutional state. It is against the Freedom of movement guaranteed by the Constitution of Pakistan. Every citizen has a right enter and move freely throughout Pakistan. Either the legislature should abolish it or constitutional courts should strike it down. It is prone to misuse and gives vast powers to the Police.
