FIR Registration Cannot Disqualify Anyone from Government Jobs

In a recent ruling, the Federal Constitutional Court has stated that registering an FIR should not be considered a reason to disqualify someone from holding a government job. A panel led by Chief Justice Amin Khan addressed this issue during a case hearing. The court emphasized that federal and provincial bodies, as well as law enforcement agencies, must implement consistent, clear, and constitutionally valid guidelines for checking applicants' past records during government hiring processes.

The court stressed that when evaluating a candidate's background, judicial instructions should be given significant weight, and character verification should be grounded in factual and unbiased confirmation rather than assumptions or doubts. An individual's status cannot be negatively impacted by an FIR once they have been acquitted.

If proceedings are still ongoing, only the fact of their occurrence should be noted without presuming guilt beforehand. The court also ruled that no individual should be dismissed from service without being given a fair hearing and based on a decision that incorporates arguments. Furthermore, the court highlighted the crucial distinction between registering an FIR and having a judicially confirmed offense, noting that an FIR is merely an allegation and does not serve as evidence of a crime.