Conflicting rulings in civil and criminal cases could affect course of justice, remarks FCC
Court rules criminal actions must wait for civil court decision in same cases: Criminal courts should wait when a property dispute is already before civil court: Disputed documents must first be examined by civil court
The Federal Constitutional Court (FCC) has issued an important ruling on civil and criminal proceedings, saying that two cases concerning the same matter should not normally proceed at the same time, the 24NewsHD TV channel reported on Thursday.
The court ruled that when a property dispute is already being heard by a civil court, the criminal court should wait for the civil court's decision. It said that allowing both proceedings to continue could result in conflicting decisions and affect the administration of justice.
According to the TV channel report, Justice Ali Baqar Najafi wrote the 11-page judgement, ruling that the civil court would determine the authenticity and legal status of disputed documents.
The court said action could not be taken against the applicants until the disputed certificates had been verified. Criminal or administrative proceedings could begin only after the civil court had reached a decision on the matter.
The judgement said there could be grounds to stop criminal proceedings when a civil case and a criminal case were closely connected to the same issue. However, a civil case filed in bad faith could not be used as a reason to stop criminal proceedings.
The court directed that any decision to suspend criminal proceedings must be made after considering the circumstances of the case and the requirements of justice.
According to the judgement, determining the legal status of disputed documents falls within the authority of the civil court.
The constitutional court issued the ruling in a case involving a former District Education Officer (EDO) in Bannu. Proceedings had been under way against the former officer and others over alleged irregularities in the recruitment of teachers.
The officials were accused of recruiting teachers on the basis of forged documents. The dispute over the alleged fake documents was already pending before a civil court, while separate criminal proceedings had been launched against the officials.
Reporter: Amanat Gishkori