Status of register No. 19 in the circumstance needs some clarification; examination of such register shows that name of police station and district is not mentioned in the page brought on record as Exh. DC. If this document has been summoned by the court than court should look into its relevancy and admissibility first and then allow the defence to prove it through primary evidence as mentioned in Article 161 of Qanun-e-Shahadat Order, 1984. Though public documents are proved through certified copies yet they should be in the form as required u/a 87 of Qanun-e-Shahadat Order, 1984. Any person when applying for such document can face question of any privilege claimed on it. It is the court which would decide whether claimed privilege sustains or not.
Register No. 19, Police Rules, 1934: Mode and manner of tendering in evidence
Police usually claim privilege against unpublished official record for its production before the court as mentioned in Rule 27.24 of Police Rules, 1934, wherein certain documents are under absolute privilege though other not, yet police can also claim privilege on it; therefore, it is the court which after summoning and examining the document without showing it to the parties would decide whether it is privileged document or not; if court declares it as not privileged, then would ask the party to prove the document through primary evidence with any exception as highlighted in Article 161 of Qanun-e-Shahadat Order, 1984 and not in any other manner. In the present case, register No. 19 was not duly proved; therefore, any page/part of register bringing on record without formal proof would amount to improper admission of evidence. It is trite of law that if such practice is allowed to continue then every junior ranked police official while bringing on record any register while claiming it as genuine, real and true without the knowledge of senior officers in the hierarchy of police station or the department can thwart the sanctuary of prosecution case; therefore, we reject the part of evidence brought on record in the form of Exh. DC as being not certified through the process of law.
Crl. Appeal: 70487/19
Tahir Naqash Vs The State etc.
Mr. Justice Muhammad Amjad Rafiq
08-06-2021
2021 LHC 1896
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