LAHORE: The Standing Committee of the Punjab Assembly has approved the Criminal Procedure Code (Punjab Amendment) Bill 2025, aimed at expediting the process of filing appeals against acquittals.
According to the text of the bill, an amendment has been introduced to Section 417 of the Criminal Procedure Code, which deals with the authority to file appeals against acquittal of accused persons. Under the approved amendment, the power to grant permission for filing such appeals will be transferred from the provincial government to the Secretary of the Punjab Prosecution Department.
Following the amendment, the Secretary Public Prosecution will be authorized to directly instruct public prosecutors to file appeals against acquittal verdicts, eliminating the need for prior approval from the provincial government.
The bill states that the objective of the amendment is to speed up the appeal process and remove lengthy and complex official procedures. In many cases, delays in obtaining government approval resulted in the expiration of the legal time limit, preventing appeals from being filed.
After approval by the Standing Committee, the bill will now be presented to the Punjab Assembly and subsequently forwarded to the Governor of Punjab for final approval.
