ISLAMABAD: The National Judicial Policy Making Committee (NJPMC) and the Law and Justice Commission of Pakistan (LJCP)'s provincial district committees have decided to set up a central databank of criminals' fingerprints as fingerprinting is the most reliable and easy way for identification of criminals.

The provincial district committees, which are headed by the chief justice of the respective provinces have decided in their recent meetings that a databank of fingerprints of criminals should be step up, and it would be linked with all provincial justice departments, said LJCP Secretary Dr Muhammad Reheem Awan, during the meeting of the Sub-Committee of the National Assembly on Law and Justice, chaired by the convener of the committee, MNA Muhammad Ehsan Ullah Thawa.

He said that the provincial district committees asked Home departments to collect criminals' fingerprints, available at various police stations, courts, and prisons, and set up its central databank and link with all the provincial criminal justice departments.

Awan, while briefing the committee about reforms in the criminal justice system, said that an internal accountability mechanism should be introduced in the police department. A provincial complaint authority headed a by a senior police official should be constituted, he said.

He said that the deficiencies in investigation by the police provide benefit to the accused. "Investigation officers (IO) leave out flaws during the investigation that ultimately benefit the accused later in the higher courts," he said.

Awan said that the LJCP had proposed amendments in Section 11 of Code of Criminal Procedure 1898. The LJCP proposed insertion of a new section in the CrPC Section 59-A, which provided right to arrested person to inform his friend or relative or other persons.

The parliamentary body asked the LJCP to present comparative chart of the amendment proposed by it.

The committee also directed the Law Ministry to brief it regarding the amendments proposed by it, during the next meeting. The meeting was also attended by MNA Mohsin Nawaz Ranjha, Nafisa Shah, and senior officials of the LJCP.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2020