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Afaq Riaz Ahmad etc. V. Federation of Pakistan etc.

PLJ 2011 Karachi 191 (DB) · Sindh High Court

This case involved a criminal complaint filed against two petitioners under the Prevention of Electronic Crime Ordinance, 2007, along with related provisions of the Pakistan Telecommunication (Re-organization) Act, 1996 and the Electronic Transactions Ordinance, 2002. The petitioners approached the Sindh High Court arguing that the Prevention of Electronic Crime Ordinance was a temporary law that had lapsed on 4 November 2009, and therefore criminal proceedings against them under that Ordinance could no longer continue.

The court agreed. Relying on a Supreme Court precedent (Muhammad Arif vs. The State), it explained that while permanent laws that are repealed generally do not affect ongoing investigations or proceedings, temporary laws work differently: once a temporary statute expires, any proceedings initiated under it automatically come to an end, unless the law itself says otherwise. Since the Ordinance had been repeatedly repromulgated but ultimately lapsed without being extended, and no exception applied, the proceedings against the petitioners under this Ordinance could not legally continue.

The High Court therefore quashed the case against the petitioners specifically to the extent it relied on the expired Ordinance. However, it clarified that the petitioners could still be prosecuted under the other laws mentioned in the original complaint, such as the Telecommunication Act and the Electronic Transactions Ordinance, if those provisions remained valid.

This ruling matters because it reinforces an important legal principle: tempor

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