ISLAMABAD – The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Friday declared the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act, 2016 (Peca) null and void.
IHC Chief Justice Athar Minallah announced the verdict on petitions filed by several journalist bodies after the controversial law was promulgated through a presidential ordinance in February this year.
President Dr Arif Alvi promulgated an ordinance in February to amend the PECA law as the government moved to curb “fake news”. According to journalists and experts, the government’s move aimed to silence dissent on social media and control the media.
The media bodies had challenged the “draconian law” in the IHC following countrywide protests.
“The criminalisation of defamation, protection of individual reputations through arrest and imprisonment and the resultant chilling effect violates the letter of the Constitution and the invalidity thereof is beyond a reasonable doubt,” said the order authored by IHC Chief Justice Athar Minallah.
The court ruled that the ordinance was promulgated in derogation of the Constitution and the fundamental rights guaranteed thereunder, particularly Articles 9, 14, 19 and 19-A.
The journalist associations, including Pakistan Broadcasters Association (PBA), All Pakistan Newspapers Society (APNS), Council of Pakistan Newspaper Editors (CPNE), Association of Electronic Media Editors and News Directors (AEMEND) and some senior journalists of the country, had filed the petition through senior lawyer Munir A Malik.
