LHC Forms Full Bench to Hear Cases Related to Students Harassment

APP

Lahore:The Lahore High Court (LHC) has constituted a full bench to hear cases regarding the harassment of female students.

LHC Chief Justice Aalia Neelum passed the orders on a petition filed by a citizen, Azam Ali Butt, seeking a probe into recent harassment incidents at educational institutions in Lahore.

At the start of the proceedings, Inspector General of Police (IGP) Punjab, Usman Anwar, appeared before the court after being summoned.

He stated that no incident of sexual assault had taken place at the private college, terming the social media campaign regarding the alleged incident as malicious.

The IGP also submitted a report, informing the court that an inquiry team had been constituted, which would explore social media platforms and apprehend individuals responsible for orchestrating the smear campaign.

The IGP further submitted that, at the request of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority had blocked 38 social media accounts.

However, the IGP admitted that the police officers had not properly handled the Punjab University suicide case, as they did not prepare a report of the incident under Section 174 of the CrPC.

He assured the court that proceedings were in progress and that the report would be submitted as soon as it was ready.

At this stage, the Lahore College for Women University registrar submitted an inquiry report of the committee, which had been constituted under the Higher Education Commission’s (HEC) policy on protection against sexual harassment.

However, the chief justice noted that the inquiry report was unsatisfactory, adding that it had been prepared only after the issuance of a court notice.

In response, the registrar admitted this fact but claimed that the harassment committee had held a meeting on October 14, 2024.cThe chief justice observed that the issue was sensitive, as it involved the safety of female students at colleges and universities.

She emphasized that the matter must be handled with care and caution, as the protection of female students was of prime importance. The chief justice directed the investigating agencies to complete their investigations without harassing anyone.

She further instructed the FIA director general to appear along with a report after probing all social media accounts related to the three recent incidents. If required, the FIA could record the statements of the students in the presence of their parents and the authorities of the educational institutions, she directed.

The chief justice also ordered that anyone wishing to record their statement regarding the three incidents should appear before the FIA authorities.

Subsequently, the chief justice constituted a full bench to hear the matter and ordered the registrar’s office to schedule the case for hearing before the bench on October 22.