Alleged drug trafficker acquitted as ‘substantive evidence’ destroyed in fire

A sessions court has acquitted a man in a decade-old case pertaining to the possession of drugs, citing “infirmities, anomalies and discrepancies”, as well as the lack of the allegedly seized hashish, which was stated to have been destroyed in a fire at the City Courts’ Malkhana.

Sadam Hussain had been charged with carrying 1.2kg of charas near Singer Chowrangi in the jurisdiction of the Awami Colony police station in July 2014.

The accused had moved an application seeking his acquittal under Section 265-K of the Criminal Procedure Code. His co-accused Ahsan Ali had pleaded guilty to the possession of 600g of charas, and was convicted by the court in 2015.

Additional Sessions Judge Abdul Zahoor Chandio observed that the police did not present private witnesses despite the alleged recovery of drugs made in a busy and populated area. “Such an omission to secure independent mashirs can’t be brushed aside lightly.”

Judge Chandio said that the record shows that the investigating officer had failed to collect any evidence against the accused regarding the use, purchase or sale of the recovered contraband.

The judge noted that the accused had been facing the trial for over a year, during which time the prosecution could only produce one witness.

“The case property of the instant case, the production of which is the sole responsibility of the prosecution during the trial, is said to have been burnt in the fire incident of the Malkhana of the City Courts.”

“In the case where recovery is itself an offence, case property is substantive evidence. Once it’s not available for any reason, the prosecution can’t succeed in establishing the charge against the accused, for the simple reason that it can’t be presented before the witnesses for identification nor confronted to the accused in his statement.”

Besides, the judge pointed out, the chemical examiner had not specified the protocol that had been followed during the examination of the seized drugs.

“In view of the above infirmities, anomalies and discrepancies, there’s no likelihood that the accused would be convicted, even if all the witnesses are called and examined by this court, and further proceedings of the case would be an abuse of the process of law,” he ruled acquitting the accused.

The court ordered that he be released forthwith if his custody is not required in any case. The accused had absconded after being granted bail in the case, which was subsequently put on dormant file due to his perpetual absence.

In November 2023 his lawyer had filed a statement saying that the accused was confined in the Malir prison. An FIR had been lodged at the Awami Colony police station under Section 9-C of the Control of Narcotic Substances Act, 1997.