PECA 2016 § 33 — Warrant for search or seizure

Statutory text (English)

(1) Upon an application by an authorized officer that
demonstrates to the satisfaction of the Court that there exist reasonable ground sto believe that there
may be in a specified place an information system, data, device or other articles that—
(a) may reasonably be required for the purpose of a criminal investigation or
criminal proceedings which may be material as evidence in proving a
specifically identified offence made out under this Act; or
(b) has been acquired by a person as a result of the commission of an offence, the
Court may issue a warrant which shall authorize an officer of the investigation
agency, with such assistance as may be necessary, to enter the specified place
and to search the premises and any information system, data, device or storage
medium relevant to the offence identified in the application and access, seize or
similarly secure any information system, data, device or other articles relevant
to the offence identified in the application.

(2) In circumstances involving an offence under section 10, under which a warrant may be
issued but cannot be obtained without the apprehension of destruction, alteration or loss of data,
information system, data, device or other articles required for investigation, the authorized officer, who
shall be a Gazetted officer of the investigation agency, may enter the specified place and search the
premises and any information system, data, device or other articles relevant to the offence and access,
seize or similarly secure any information system, data, device or other articles relevant to the offence:

Provided that the authorized officer shall immediately but not later than twenty-four hours bring
to the notice of the Court, the fact of such search or seizure and the Court on receipt of such information
may pass such orders as deemed appropriate in the circumstances of the case.

Source and verification

Source citation: PECA 2016 (Act XL of 2016) s.33: Pakistan Code portal consolidated official PDF 'THE PREVENTION OF ELECTRONIC CRIMES ACT, 2016' (incl. Act XXXVII of 2023 & Act II of 2025 amendments), p. 29, ingested 2026-09-15. Automated transcription from official source (pypdf extraction, audited artifact repair); human admin re-check required before production.

Verification status: verified · Text status: auto_transcribed_verified_source

The record cites an official source, but its transcription is automated or only partly checked; a human re-check is pending.

Official Urdu text status: pending_official_urdu_text. Where official Urdu wording has not been sourced, Qanoon does not substitute an unverified translation for the statutory text.

Historical text notes

1 historical record is linked to this section. Historical wording may be incomplete or pending verification; it is not presented as current law.

• Date not confirmed: Consolidated current text as published in the official Pakistan Code PDF (p. 29) — reflects all amendments recorded in the official footnotes up to ingest date 2026-09-15. Automated transcription; per-amendment version…

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