ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) has ruled that police character certificates must exclude references to criminal cases that have ended in a final acquittal.
Justice Ayyaz Shaukat allowed a citizen’s petition challenging the inclusion of a first information report (FIR) registered at Shalimar Police Station in his certificate.
He directed Islamabad’s Inspector General of Police to establish a procedure ensuring that such cases are omitted from certificates issued to acquitted citizens. However, the ruling distinguishes disclosure from internal record-keeping.
Police may retain case information in their official records, but that does not justify including it in a character certificate after an acquittal has attained finality.
Examining the petitioner’s document, the court found that it incorrectly described him as having been discharged during the investigation. That description failed to reflect the court’s final acquittal decision.
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Justice Shaukat held that treating an acquitted person as merely discharged undermined the judgment’s legal effect. He declared the certificate unlawful and ordered removal of the FIR reference.
Continued disclosure could portray an acquitted citizen as carrying criminal liability, the court observed. It linked the practice to violations of constitutional protections under Articles 4, 9, 14 and 15.
Character certificates are used for international travel, visa applications, overseas employment and university admissions abroad, according to Islamabad Police’s service guidance.
The court further observed that citizens should not have to initiate separate proceedings to obtain rights already recognised by law.
Its direction to the Islamabad police chief requires an administrative procedure for handling certificates where the relevant proceedings have concluded in a final acquittal.
