IHC Orders Police to Remove Acquitted Cases from Character Certificates

IHC Issues Ruling on Police Character Certificates

The Islamabad High Court (IHC) has ruled that police cannot mention criminal cases in character certificates issued to citizens who have been finally acquitted by a court.

Justice Ayyaz Shaukat announced the decision while accepting a petition filed by a citizen seeking the removal of an FIR registered at Shalimar Police Station from his character certificate.

The court directed the Inspector General of Islamabad Police to establish a proper procedure to ensure that cases ending in final acquittals are excluded from these certificates.

Police Can Retain Internal Records

The court clarified that police authorities can keep details of previous FIRs in their internal records for lawful official purposes.

However, such information cannot be disclosed in character certificates issued to citizens, particularly those requiring the documents for overseas travel.

The judgment observed that mentioning a case after final acquittal could wrongly portray a citizen as having a criminal background.

Previous Certificate Declared Unlawful

The IHC also declared the petitioner's previously issued character certificate unlawful because it described him as having been discharged during the investigation, despite his final acquittal by the court.

The judgment stated that this wording failed to reflect his correct legal status.

The court further observed that including FIR details after final acquittal violated constitutional protections under Articles 4, 9, 14 and 15.

Islamabad Police Directed to Introduce New Procedure

The court instructed Islamabad Police to develop a mechanism for issuing character certificates without references to cases that have ended in final acquittals.

The decision aims to prevent citizens from repeatedly approaching courts to correct official documents and protect their legal status when applying for overseas opportunities or other services.