In a major relief to the arrested underage drivers across Punjab, the Lahore High Court (LHC) has ordered Station House Officers (SHOs) throughout the province to release them.
However, LHC has set a condition before setting all such teenagers free: Provide a personal guarantee that they will refrain from driving without valid licenses.
The directive was issued by Justice Ali Zia Bajwa of the LHC during the hearing of a petition challenging the Punjab Police’s decision to add names of underage motorists to its criminal record.
Additionally, LHC directed the Superintendent of Police (SP) of the Criminal Record Office to provide details of criminal records associated with the FIRs filed against underage drivers.
The SP confirmed that they had created criminal records of teenage motorists against whom FIRs had been registered. Responding to the official’s statement, they stated that it was assured by the DIG IT that the police would not be generating criminal records for such teenagers.
During the hearing, Justice Bajwa highlighted that a law is present that addresses minor offenses, enabling SHOs to release individuals involved in such cases.
Moreover, the Chief Traffic Officer (CTO), Mustansar Feroze, revealed that more than 1.4 million learner licenses had been issued. Additionally, during the ongoing crackdown, police registered FIRs against 7,000 teenage motorists. The CTO added that 9,000 individuals were booked for driving without licenses.
Source: Pro Pakistani