Lahore: The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Thursday acquitted a man who had been sentenced to 14 years in prison in a case involving the recovery of six kilograms of charas, setting aside the trial court’s conviction.
Justice Tariq Saleem Sheikh allowed the criminal appeal filed by the accused, Zulfiqar Ali, who had remained behind bars for nearly three years.
The court observed that merely producing sealed narcotics before the court was not sufficient to establish the prosecution’s case. It was necessary to open the parcel during the proceedings and have the witnesses identify the recovered narcotics.
The court held that the prosecution was responsible for establishing the complete chain of custody, including the safe custody and transfer of the seized narcotics. However, the police failed to produce a complete record showing the safe transfer of the recovered drugs, it added.
The prosecution also failed to produce the road certificate showing that the samples had been sent to the forensic agency, it observed, adding that the relevant entry from Register No. 19 was also not produced before the court.
In the absence of these documents, the prosecution could not establish the uninterrupted chain of custody, creating serious doubts about the case, the court observed.
The court further noted contradictions in the witnesses’ descriptions of the recovered charas. One witness described the pieces as square-shaped, while another said they were round, it added.
The court observed that opening the sealed parcel and obtaining identification from the witnesses could have clarified the discrepancy. Giving the accused the benefit of doubt, the LHC set aside his 14-year sentence and ordered his acquittal.
