Pakistan top court bans ‘colonial’ language in policing

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (MNTV) — Pakistan’s Supreme Court has barred the use of archaic and demeaning expressions such as “Bakhidmat Janaab SHO” (at the service of mister police officer) and “Faryadi” (supplicant) in police papers and court proceedings, declaring that citizens engage law-enforcement authorities as a matter of constitutional right, not as seekers of favor.

In a rights-based ruling, the court said a simple address like “Janaab SHO” correctly reflects the legal relationship between citizens and the police, who are duty-bound to serve the public.

Terms implying subservience, it said, have no legal sanction and undermine constitutional dignity.

The judgment, authored by Justice Salahuddin Panhwar, was delivered by a three-member bench headed by Justice Muhammad Hashim Khan Kakar and including Justices Panhwar and Ishtiaq Ibrahim.

While arising from a murder appeal, the court broadened the scope to address systemic flaws in policing practices, particularly the delayed registration of First Information Reports (FIRs) and the language used in official proceedings.

The court declared “Faryadi” legally misconceived and constitutionally impermissible, saying it portrays a citizen as a petitioner seeking mercy rather than a rights-bearing individual invoking the law. It clarified that a person providing information for an FIR is an “informant,” while a “complainant” files a complaint before a magistrate.

District and sessions judges across Sindh were directed to ensure that no informant or complainant is referred to as “Faryadi” in lower courts.

The court suggested legally accurate alternatives, including Itlaah Deendhar (informant) or Shikayat Kandhar (complainant) in Sindhi and Itlaah Dahinda in Urdu.

Calling such expressions remnants of a colonial mindset, the court said they invert the constitutional relationship between citizens and public servants. Police officers, it said, are remunerated from public funds and are bound to protect life, liberty and security under the Constitution.

Copies of the judgment were ordered to be circulated to all high courts and district courts nationwide for compliance, which the court described as a necessary step toward citizen-centric policing, institutional accountability and the restoration of constitutional dignity at the very first stage of the criminal justice process.