PESHAWAR: The Judge acquitted the accused by exercising his powers under section 265K of Code of Criminal Procedure after the Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF) failed to provide justification for the recovery of soil and animal dung from the parcels. The court also ordered the Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF) to return back a tractor trolley seized from the accused.
Judge Syed Asghar Ali Shah pronounced the order after receiving report of the Forensic Science Laboratory, which said the samples sent to it by the court were not narcotics.
The judge had sent some samples to the laboratory for testing on Jan 31 after it found out presence of soil and animal dung from the parcels which the ANF claimed was recovered from the accused named Pervez Iqbal.
The ANF had produced 16 sacks each carrying 25 packets alleging that these packets had 450 kgs charas recovered from the accused. However, when one of the sacks was opened it carried soil which angered the judge. The judge had issued notice to the ANF asking it to explain why the accused should not be acquitted.
The ANF alleged that it had arrested the accused on Aug 28, 2014 after recovery of 450kg charas from a tractor trolley he drove and that the charas was packed in 450 packets of one kilogramme each. The accused was charged under section 9 of the Control of Narcotics Substance Act.
The investigation officer Naeem Khan claimed he had taken samples of all seized packets before sending them to the FSL for chemical examination. Even the earlier FSL report said it had received 450 samples which after chemical examination was found to be of charas.
After receiving notice from the court the ANF’s prosecutor submitted an application requesting that the case file may be returned as they wanted to produce further evidence in the case.
The court observed that the prosecution could not provide any justification about under which law the case file could be returned to them and fresh evidence could be produced when the trial was near conclusion.
The court turned down the said application of ANF with the observation that it was not permissible under the law.
