Islamabad High Court Declares Mentioning of FIRs in Character Certificates Illegal After Acquittal

*Acquitted citizens cannot be treated as criminals; police may retain internal records but cannot mention concluded cases in character certificates, rules court*

*ISLAMABAD:* The Islamabad High Court has issued an important ruling in favour of citizens acquitted in criminal cases, declaring it unlawful for police to mention an FIR in a character certificate after a person has been formally acquitted.

Justice Ayaz Shaukat accepted a citizen’s petition and ordered the removal of a reference to an FIR registered at Shalimar Police Station from the petitioner’s character certificate. The court also directed the Inspector General of Islamabad Police to establish a proper procedure to ensure that citizens who have been acquitted do not have to approach courts unnecessarily to secure their legal rights.

The court observed that once a person has been finally acquitted in a criminal case, there is no legal justification for mentioning the concluded case or its FIR in a police character certificate.

It clarified that the police may retain details of criminal cases in their internal records, but such information cannot be included in character certificates issued to citizens for purposes such as travelling abroad.

The judgment emphasised that a person who has been acquitted cannot be portrayed as a criminal. Continuing to refer to an FIR in a character certificate despite a final acquittal adversely affects an individual’s legal status, reputation and rights.

The court further observed that mentioning an FIR after acquittal violates the constitutional protections guaranteed under Articles 4, 9, 14 and 15 of the Constitution of Pakistan.

According to the judgment, the character certificate previously issued to the petitioner stated that he had been discharged during the investigation and that the court had agreed with the decision. The court found that this description did not accurately reflect the petitioner’s legal status and undermined his position despite the acquittal.

The Islamabad High Court stressed that citizens should not be forced into unnecessary litigation to obtain rights already guaranteed to them under the law.

The court directed the Islamabad Police chief to formulate a mechanism in accordance with the ruling so that FIRs relating to cases in which citizens have been finally acquitted are not reflected in their character certificates.

*3D Media*