PESHAWAR: Supreme Court of Pakistan on Thursday directed Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government to submit a comprehensive report of vehicles seized in criminal cases and parked in police warehouses across the province including status of the relevant cases.

A bench consisting of Justice Musarrat Hilali, Justice Shakeel Ahmad and Justice Ishtiaq Ibrahim directed the KP advocate general, Shah Faisal Uthmankhel, to also inform the court about how many vehicles had been handed over to different people including police officials on Sueprdari.

A day earlier, the bench had sought report about the vehicles parked in the warehouses in the province. The AG informed the bench that a total of 1,119 vehicles were parked in the main warehouse, which was in Daudzai police station, whereas 36 others were temporarily parked in warehouse of Mathra police station.

When the bench inquired whether the said vehicles had still been parked in those warehouses or were in use of some officials, he said that the vehicles were physically present in the warehouses.

Apex court directs govt to provide details about entire province

The bench observed that a day earlier when they were hearing the case related to use of a car, which was a case property, by a retired deputy superintendent of police, they had personally witnessed that the car was in running condition and was not parked in the warehouse. It added that even no record of the car was available.

The bench directed the AG to park the said car in the warehouse of excise and taxation department.

The AG said that due to paucity of time he had submitted report only of Peshawar and he might be provided time for submitting detailed report about the entire province.

The bench directed that the report should include all the details including the names of police stations where cases related to vehicles were registered, status of cases and conditions of vehicles, etc.

The bench observed that those vehicles were dumped carelessly in warehouses and were turning into scrap, thus affecting their market value.

Justice Ishtiaq Ibrahim asked the AG that as the KP government had already enacted its own anti-narcotics law, whether it had framed any such rules under which the vehicles that were case properties could be auctioned and in case an accused won the case he would be paid the said amount.

The AG replied in negative, stating no such rules had so far been formulated.

Justice Hilali observed that police officers had started a sort of sale and they handed over such vehicles to persons of their choice. The judge observed that even SHOs were conducting raids in those vehicles instead of official ones.

Justice Hilali remarked that the apex court won’t allow such illegalities.

The AG stated that they had held a meeting with relevant police officers and had made it clear to them that the orders of Supreme Court would be fully implemented in that regard.

Justice Ishtiaq observed that inspector general of police was SHO for the whole province and if conditions didn’t improve the court would issue notice to him.

The bench was hearing an appeal here in Supreme Court’s Peshawar Registry by a citizen Imran Khan, seeking custody of his vehicle on Superdari.

The appellant claimed that his vehicle was taken into custody by police in an alleged narcotics-trafficking case and instead of parking it in the warehouse, in accordance with order of the relevant court, had been in use of a police officer.

The bench ordered that the matter would be taken up for hearing next month.

Published in Dawn, June 13th, 2025