Legal notice seeks formation of commission to probe complaints against law enforcers

Fifty-three Supreme Court lawyers today collectively sent a legal notice to the government, requesting it to constitute an independent commission to investigate allegations against law enforcers for committing crimes.

Lawyer Mohammad Shishir Manir served the notice on behalf of the 53 lawyers to the home secretary, law secretary and inspector general of police, asking them to form the commission titled "Police Complaint Investigation Commission" in four weeks.

In the notice, they said that a section of the law enforcers are reportedly involved in 18 types of crimes including extra judicial killing, rape, stalking, drug trading, torture and causing custodial deaths and enforced disappearances.

Around 500 incidents of such offences have reportedly taken place in between January 2017 to July 2020, the lawyers said in the legal notice.

They also stated that since law enforcers conduct their own inquiries into the allegations against them, the probes are not done fairly and neutrally.

There are independent commissions in different countries including the USA, the UK, France, India and Pakistan to conduct investigations into allegations against law enforcers, the SC lawyers said.

The lawyers also said they will take appropriate legal steps if an independent commission is not formed to investigate the complaints against the law enforcers.