The cabinet is considering making power theft a punishable offense, enabling the police to arrest the offenders.
According to the cabinet’s proposal, police officers would be able to arrest the power thieves without a warrant and initiate an investigation without needing a court’s permission.
Currently, registering an FIR without submitting a complaint to the court would be considered void and the arrests on these FIRs would be considered unlawful.
ALSO READ
IESCO Launches Special Drive to Prevent Power Theft
According to a media report, a proposal for making an amendment to the law has been sent to the cabinet for approval. Right now, the law only allows the courts to register FIRs for power theft cases. Therefore, the courts rule that direct registration of FIRs by the police is void and arrests in this regard are unlawful.
However, giving the police a free hand to arrest power thieves raises the possibility of misuse of power. This is why the amendment only allows the police to directly register FIRs and arrest the offenders if the information about the offense is provided in writing by the police, a grade 17 officer, or the distribution companies.
Via: ExpressTribune
