SULEMAN vs State S — 2022 MLD 1612 PESHAWAR-HIGH-COURT

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SULEMAN VS State S.9(d)---Possession of narcotics---Appreciation of evidence---Chain of custody and safe transmission of narcotic to laboratory---Scope---Prosecution case was that 7028 grams of charas was recovered from the motorcar driven by the accused, while co-accused was sitting on front seat of the said motorcar---Alleged contraband had been sent to the Forensic Science Laboratory after delay of about two days---Said fact was evident from the report of Forensic Science Laboratory as well as statement of concerned Moharrir and the constable who took it to the Forensic Science Laboratory---Delay of two days in sending the samples to the Forensic Science Laboratory had also not been plausibly explained by the prosecution therefore, the evidence qua safe transmission of alleged recovered narcotics to the laboratory for chemical analysis was missing---Chain of custody or safe custody and safe transmission of narcotic drug began with seizure of the narcotic drug by the law enforcement officer, followed by separation of the representative samples and the narcotic drug with the law enforcement agency and then dispatching of the representative samples of the narcotic drugs to the office of Chemical Examiner for examination and testing---Any break or gap in the chain of custody, i.e. in the safe custody or safe transmission of the narcotic drug or its representative samples made the report of the Chemical Examiner unsafe and unreliable for justifying conviction of the accused---Circumstances established that the prosecution had failed to prove its case against the accused beyond reasonable doubt to sustain conviction---Appeal was allowed and accused was acquitted by setting aside conviction and sentence recorded by the Trial Court. Head NotesCase Description

SULEMAN vs State S — 2022 MLD 1612 PESHAWAR-HIGH-COURT

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