Delay in producing suspect in drug case: LHC directs CCPO to lodge case against police officials

LAHORE: The Lahore High Court Chief Justice on Monday directed the CCPO Lahore to lodge a case against the responsible police officials for producing a suspect before a city magistrate in drug case with a ten hour delay.

The chief justice allowed bail to the petitioner Qasun alias Goga and observed that the delayed production of the suspect before the magistrate for remand showed a clear malafide intension on part of the investigating officer and other police officials.

The counsel of Goga argued that Mughalpura police had arrested the petitioner on July 30, 2020 with an alleged recovery of 1-kg heroin but produced him before the magistrate after 36 hours of the arrest. The counsel said the police was bound to produce any suspect before the judicial magistrate concerned not later than 24 hours of the arrest. He said the matter of illegal detention was agitated before the magistrate who ordered an inquiry. However, he said no inquiry had been conducted into the matter despite an application was also filed with the CCPO Lahore.

The counsel also pleaded that the police implicated the petitioner in a fabricated case with malafide intention and prayed for post arrest bail and court allowed the same accordingly.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2021