KARACHI – The Sindh High Court has rejected a petition filed by the family of Karachi youth Mir Raza seeking the formation of a joint investigation team (JIT) to investigate his murder and has issued a written order.
A two-member bench comprising Justice Adnan-ul-Karim Memon and Justice Muhammad Jafar Raza heard the petition filed by Mir Raza Ali Khan’s parents and sister. Justice Muhammad Jafar Raza authored the seven-page judgment.
The court rejected the plea for the formation of a JIT and directed the investigating officer to complete the probe in accordance with the law in an impartial, transparent, effective and expeditious manner.
The court observed that directly intervening in the ongoing investigation would be contrary to the principles governing judicial jurisdiction.
In their petition, Mir Raza’s parents and sister said they had lost confidence in the police investigation into his death and requested the court to order the formation of a JIT under its constitutional jurisdiction.
The petitioners’ counsel, Jibran Nasir, told the court that the ongoing investigation contained several shortcomings and inconsistencies, causing the family to lose confidence in the existing investigation process.
According to the written order, the petitioners’ counsel cited various judgments in support of the request for a JIT. However, the Advocate General Sindh and Prosecutor General Sindh opposed the plea.
The government lawyers argued that the High Court, while exercising its constitutional writ jurisdiction, could not interfere in an ongoing criminal investigation, constitute a JIT or supervise the investigation. They said the probe was still underway and the final report under Section 173 of the Code of Criminal Procedure had not yet been submitted to the court.
They maintained that the petitioners’ expression of distrust in the investigation was premature and based merely on allegations.
The court observed that the arguments presented by the petitioners’ counsel were not sufficient to convince it to order the formation of a JIT. It said directly interfering in the ongoing investigation or taking control of the process was not appropriate.
The investigating officer had assured the court that he was making every effort to investigate the matter.
The court further stated that, if necessary, assistance from other law enforcement or investigative agencies could be sought in accordance with the law.
The order also noted that a one-member commission had been constituted under the Sindh Tribunals of Inquiry Ordinance 1969 and had already commenced proceedings.
The court observed that the petitioners’ counsel had not raised any serious objection to the formation of the commission and had instead expressed confidence in it.
