LAHORE: Justice Ali Zia Bajwa on Tuesday ordered the immediate removal of all anti-judiciary content from social media platforms and directed the authorities to compile comprehensive lists of all individuals involved in uploading and sharing such content.
The Lahore High Court heard a petition concerning an alleged malicious campaign on social media targeting the Chief Justice of Lahore High Court and Justice Abher Gul Khan. During the proceedings, the court summoned the Director General of Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) to appear in person on January 15.
The court remarked that if any such post appears in the future, the head of National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) will be held responsible. Expressing strong displeasure, the court criticised the FIA director for failing to take action on his own initiative. The court observed that under the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (Peca), such actions amount to contempt of court and constitute cyber-violence against the judiciary, in which contempt is clearly established.
The bench questioned whether the FIA’s authority to take suo motu action had ended and asked why the agency had remained silent on such a serious matter. The court noted that the campaign had been ongoing for a considerable period and questioned why the FIA had not taken timely action or fulfilled its legal responsibilities.
The court observed that action against those who trolled judges on social media could be considered at a later stage, but first it would be necessary to examine what concrete steps had been taken by the FIA in this regard.
During the hearing, the petitioner’s counsel, Mian Dawood, maintained that several social media accounts were actively involved in orchestrating a campaign against the Chief Justice of Lahore High Court and Justice Abher Gul Khan.
It was argued that a coordinated social media campaign was being run against the judges on the basis of fake references, while the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency remained completely silent. The Advocate General of Punjab said the Punjab government strongly condemns the anti-judiciary campaign, terming it a clear case of contempt of court. He assured the court that all such content available on social media would be removed immediately.
