- Advertisement -
ISLAMABAD, Aug 25 (APP):The Supreme Court of Pakistan on Monday acquitted the accused in the drug recovery case and ruled that complainant and investigation officer shouldn’t be the same officer.
Justice Muhammad Hashim Khan Kakar issued a 6-page judgment in the case.
The Supreme Court said in the judgment that the police claimed to have recovered 1280 grams of hashish from the accused Zahid Nawaz on December 14, 2022. Both the complainant and the investigating officer was the same person, Inspector Muhammad Naeem Zia. If the complainant conducts the investigation himself than it could affect the transparency. Justice should also be seen to be done, it said.
The judgment said that according to the accused Zahid Nawaz, the police inspector used to take free food and loans from his hotel. According to the accused, when he asked for money, the police inspector made a false case out of enmity. The accused Zahid Nawaz had called the investigation biased from the beginning. The complainant himself becoming an investigator is a violation of the basic principles of justice.
It said that the prosecution could not prove the safe custody of the samples and the remaining property. The 64 gram sample was submitted to the treasury after a delay of 15 days and the remaining 1216 gram hashish was also submitted to the treasury after 12 days.
The Supreme Court ruled that punishment cannot be given if the chain of custody is not proven. The police officers can be witnesses in their own capacity, but without independent testimony, the risk of injustice increases.
The court said that justice requires that the plaintiff and the investigator should be separate, adding that the accused’s position is on record that the police made the case out of hostility. The prosecution could not prove the case beyond doubt. The court acquitted the accused from the case.