Police need to change investigation techniques: SC

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court has emphasised the need for making concerted efforts on part of the police force to shift its investigation techniques by introducing and relying on forensic science and accordingly train specialised officers in this field.

“The cornerstone of the criminal justice system is the effective functionality of the investigating agency and prosecution since a faulty investigative process will continuously dampen trust and confidence in the criminal justice system,” observed Justice Ayesha A. Malik in a judgment she wrote.

Justice Malik was a member of a three-judge bench, headed by Justice Mohammad Ali Mazhar, which had taken up an appeal by Mohammad Ramzan against the July 4, 2013 Lahore High Court (LHC) order acquitting Khizar Hayat of murder charges by not confirming the death sentence awarded to the accused.

On April 28, 2009, a Khushab additional sessions judge awarded the death sentence to Khizar Hayat for murdering Mohammad Hayat. The accused challenged his conviction and got acquitted by the LHC.

“Time has come for the investigation agency to recognise inherent flaws and concerns in its methodology and it needs to work towards specialising its investigative functions by separating the same from other police duties,” emphasised Justice Malik.

She wrote that the entire case of the prosecution relied on the ocular accounts which were fraught with material contradictions uncorroborated by available evidence. Moreover, she said, the presence of witnesses at the crime scene was highly doubtful and questionable.

The principle of fair trial and due process under Article 10A of the Constitution, Justice Malik emphasised, specifically mandated that the accused be equitably treated, investigated and prosecuted in accordance with the law.

“But in the case at hand, it was revealed that the entire prosecution evidence was marred by inherent improbabilities and material defects, aside from concerns about the credibility of the witnesses,” the judgment regretted.

“It is the duty of the prosecution to establish the guilt against the accused beyond a reasonable doubt,” it said, adding that the facts and circumstances of the present case clearly cast a shadow of doubt on the prosecution’s case, which had failed to prove the guilt of the accused beyond reasonable doubt, which entitled him to the presumption of innocence by law.

“It is essential to emphasise the importance of forensic science in the criminal justice system,” the judgment said, adding that forensic dealt with ‘the application of scientific techniques to provide objective, circumstantial evidence.’ F