SHC dismisses appeal of convicts in narcotics smuggling case

KARACHI:The Sindh High Court (SHC) has recently dismissed the appeals of two convicts against their life imprisonment in a case pertaining to narcotics smuggling.

Rasool Bux and Mohammad Qasim were sentenced to life imprisonment by the control of narcotics substance court for possessing 150 kilogrammes of charas and 14 kilogrammes of opium on March 3, 2020.

According to the prosecution, the appellants were arrested by the Anti-Narcotics Force on January 26, 2014, on Hub River Road, which seized the aforementioned narcotic substance from their vehicle. The appellants’ counsel submitted that they had falsely been implicated in the case and there were no independent witnesses placed by the prosecution to prove its case. The lawyer submitted that the alleged contraband substances were foisted upon the appellants.

An ANF special prosecutor supported the impugned judgment and submitted that contraband was seized from the vehicle in the presence of witnesses, which fully implicated the appellants in the offence.

A division bench of the high court comprising Justice Mohammad Karim Khan Agha and Justice Khadim Hussain Tunio after hearing the arguments of the counsel and perusal of the evidence observed that the prosecution had successfully discharged its burden in proving the seizure of narcotics from the appellants’ possession.

The high court observed that the prosecution had proved its case beyond reasonable shadow of doubt and dismissed the appeals, holding the life imprisonment. Meanwhile, the Sindh High Court (SHC) has recently dismissed bail application of a man in a robbery and murder case.

The applicant, Sharif, had filed for post-arrest bail in a robbery and murder case registered against him and others in the SITE superhighway police station. According to the prosecution, the applicant along with co-accused Ali Nawaz, Asif and three unidentified men committed a robbery, during which Asif committed the murder of Dr Zainul Abdeen on October 29, 2021.

The applicant’s counsel submitted that he was innocent and had nothing to do with the alleged offence. He submitted that he had been falsely implicated in this case by the complainant with mala fide intention.

The lawyer submitted that there was a delay of five days in the registration of an FIR for which no plausible explanation had been furnished by the complainant, and there was no independent witness of the alleged incident. The counsel argued that neither had Sharif taken part in the robbery nor did he fire at the deceased and the only allegation against him was that he stopped the vehicle of the deceased.

The lawyer told the SHC that his client was confined in the prison since November 6, 2021, and was entitled to get bail. A deputy prosecutor general submitted that the applicant was involved in a heinous offence as he was nominated in the FIR with the specific allegation of helping the co-accused commit the robbery.

He submitted that the delay in lodging of FIR had satisfactorily been explained by the complainant and sufficient evidence was available with the prosecution to connect the applicant with the commission of the alleged offence. A single bench of the high court headed by Justice Zafar Ahmed Rajput after hearing the arguments of the counsel and perusal of the material available on record observed that the applicant was nominated in the FIR with the specific role of stopping the vehicle of the deceased.

The high court observed that no doubt, the only role assigned to the applicant was that he had stopped the car of the deceased but under the Section 396 of the Pakistan Penal Code, every one of those persons who had committed the robbery and murder was liable for capital punishment, imprisonment for life or imprisonment for ten years.

The SHC observed that prima facie, the prosecution had sufficient evidence to connect the applicant with the commission of the alleged offence, and dismissed the bail application.