PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court (PHC) on Tuesday reserved its verdict on a petition filed against the Swabi deputy commissioner for allegedly uploading a private video of a university event on social media without permission.
A two-member bench comprising Justice Mohammad Naeem Anwar and Justice Wiqar Ahmad heard the case. Petitioner Muhammad Hamdan advocate, along with the assistant advocate general and assistant attorney general, appeared before the court.
During the hearing, the petitioner argued that the DC had attended a university event as a chief guest and later shared its video on social media without consent. He contended that the event included female students and that uploading the video without permission was unlawful.
Justice Naeem Anwar questioned the petitioner about the relief sought. The petitioner’s counsel responded that government officials cannot use social media for personal promotion and are only allowed to use official accounts on platforms such as X (formerly Twitter) and Facebook.
The bench further inquired whether the video was still accessible to the public. The petitioner informed the court that the DC had uploaded the video on TikTok, allegedly adding music, and that it remained publicly available.
The AAG argued that the petitioner was not an aggrieved party in the matter. Meanwhile, the assistant attorney general informed the court that under Section 29 of the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA), the cybercrime agency was authorised to handle such issues.
