IHC declares PECA ordinance ‘unconstitutional’

Islamabad: The Islamabad High Court Friday declared the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act, 2016 (Peca) Amendment Ordinance as ‘unconstitutional’, GNN reported. 

During the proceedings, IHC Chief Justice Athar Minallah remarked that here the law is enforced against the critics.

While hearing the arguments, the judge remarked that the rights of people were being trampled, somebody must be held accountable.

He observed that the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) had violated the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs)  and registered cases under such clauses which were ridiculous.

The court had also stopped the authorities from carrying out arrests under section 20 of the PECA Amendment Bill 2022.

The Pakistan Tehree-e-Insaf (PTI) government’s move, according to experts and journalists, was aimed at silencing the dissent on social media and controlling the media.

Under the ordinance, the definition of a “person” has been broadened to include any company, association, institution, organisation, authority, or any other. Furthermore, anyone found guilty of attacking a person’s “identity” will now be sentenced to five years instead of three years.

The ordinance also states the informant or the complainant shall be “aggrieved person, his authorised representative, or his guardian, where such person is a minor or a member of the public in respect of a public figure or a holder of public office”.

The ordinance also authorises the high court to issue “fresh timelines” of a case if it finds the “reasons” given by the trial court “plausible” and beyond its control.