Judge's name in FIR: LHC appoints advocate as amicus curiae

The Lahore High Court on Wednesday appointed Advocate Muhammad Azhar Siddique as amicus curiae to assist on a point whether mentioning the name of a judge in FIR or any other case documents fell within the ambit of contempt of court. The court also directed the FIA Director to ensure appearance of Deputy Director Azhar Mahmood before the court on May 31.
The court had ordered an inquiry against an assistant director of FIA Munnawar Iqbal Ranjha on charges of taking bribe from an accused. The agency conducted the inquiry and held the officer guilty followed by registration of an FIR. However, it was mentioned in the FIR that the case was registered on the directions of a LHC judge. The court observed that mentioning the name of a judge in the FIR was prima facie amounted to contempt of court and to ridicule or lower respect of the judiciary.