Overview

• Justice Ali Zia Bajwa issued an 11-page written verdict in response to a petition filed under Article 199 by Vishal Ahmad Shakir.
• The order bars law enforcement from facilitating media access to people in custody or releasing custodial or confessional statements.
• Any breach will be treated as misconduct, with accountability placed on the head of the investigating agency.
• The judgment expands the meaning of being in custody to include those stopped or detained at police checkpoints or roadblocks.
• The court recorded the Advocate General of Punjab’s view that such coverage harms dignity and weakens prosecutions, and it urged regulators to rein in publicity-driven media practices.