LAHORE – Lahore High Court Chief Justice Muhammad Qasim Khan on Monday took notice of statements of Capital City Police Officer (CCPO) Umar Sheikh against the courts for discouraging the efforts of the police by releasing suspects.
Chief Justice observed that the suspects get bail due to incompetence of the law enforcement to prove the charges.
Justice Qasim directed a provincial law officer to submit a report on the police chief’s statements.
“Tell this police officer that the courts grant bail to suspects under the law only, also make it clear to him that the courts are not subordinate to the police”, CJ remarked.
Expressing displeasure over the top cop statement, the judge said the suspects get bail due to the police’s own failure but they try to shift blame to the courts.
Courts are here to serve the people and not to hear police officers' rants. The advocate general of Punjab had a responsibility to initiate contempt proceedings against such police officers for damaging the court's reputation, he added.
CJ LHC instructed the officer to scrutinise all interviews of CCPO and submit a report to the court.
Expressing serious concerns over such incidents, the chief justice reminded the law officer that no extra-constitutional act or a single contemptuous word would be tolerated.