LAHORE: A full bench of the Lahore High Court (LHC) on Friday issued notices to the provincial government, Inspector General of Police (IGP), and the Punjab Information Technology Board (PITB) in a case concerning the police stations’ record management system.
The bench, headed by Chief Justice Aalia Neelum, directed the IGP to compile a manual record of all cases registered in the province and to submit a report by September 11. Additionally, the court ordered the PITB to provide details on the mechanism of the police software, along with the associated costs and expenditures of the computerized system.
Justices Farooq Haider and Ali Zia Bajwa were also part of the full bench, which was formed on Justice Bajwa’s recommendation.
During the hearing, the bench highlighted the importance of securing police records, expressing concern that the elimination of manual records without legal justification had put all data at risk. The court noted that the computerization of call data records (CDR) made them accessible to lower-ranking officers, with information being sold for as little as Rs50 to Rs100. The chief justice raised concerns about the potential for case tampering and misuse of the system by senior police officers.
Justice Bajwa, while hearing the matter as a single bench, had earlier criticized the performance of the PITB and its chairman and recommended that the chief justice form a larger bench to decide the issue.
**Challenge to Two-Finger Test**
In a separate matter, the same bench issued notices to the federal and provincial governments regarding a petition challenging the continued use of the two-finger test for female victims of sexual assault in hospitals, despite an existing ban.
Chief Justice Neelum stressed that the case was of great importance and its outcome would significantly impact the criminal justice system. The bench summoned the Specialized Healthcare Punjab secretary and police officials for the next hearing on September 11.
The petitioner, Salman Tahir, represented by counsel Mian Dawood, argued that Millat Park police had falsely accused him of sexually assaulting a 10-year-old girl. He claimed that Dr. Aliza Gill of Services Hospital had issued an illegal medical certificate, including the banned two-finger test for the victim.
On July 2, the Punjab Specialized Healthcare and Medical Education Department informed the LHC that the female doctor had been terminated for conducting the prohibited two-finger test on the minor rape victim.
