2020 M L D 1290
[Lahore (Multan Bench)]
(a) Control of Narcotic Substances Act (XXV of 1997)---
----Ss. 9(c) & 36---Control of Narcotic Substances (Government Analysts) Rules, 2001, R. 6---Possession of narcotics---Appreciation of evidence---Benefit of doubt---Report of Government Analyst---Failure to mention full protocols in test report---Effect---1325 grams Charas was recovered from the accused when, on spy information, a raid was conducted upon him by the police---Record showed that Government Analyst while preparing the report had not complied with the mandatory provisions of R. 6 of the Control of Narcotic Substances (Government Analysts) Rules, 2001---Requirements of said Rule were mandatory and if the same had not been complied with, the report of the Government Analysts would lose its reliability and evidentiary value---Non compliance of R. 6 and absence of any of the enumerated mandatory elements/requirements frustrated the purpose and object of the Control of Narcotic Substances Act, 1997---Report prepared by the Government Analyst, did not carry separate result of each test applied except a concluding result---Accused, in case of narcotics, carrying a stringent sentence could not be convicted and sentenced only on the basis of oral assertions unless it was established with certitude that the material allegedly recovered from his possession was a narcotic---Prosecution in the present case had failed to do so---Appeal against conviction was allowed and accused was acquitted from the charge by extending benefit of doubt to him, in circumstances.
Khair ul Bashar v. The State 2019 SCMR 930 ref.
(b) Control of Narcotic Substances (Government Analysts) Rules, 2001---
----R. 6---Control of Narcotic Substances Act (XXV of 1997), Ss. 9(c) & 36--- Possession of narcotics---Report of Government Analyst---Full protocols---Term "Protocol" means an explicit, detailed plan of an experiment, procedure or test or a precise step-by-step description of a test, including the listing of all necessary reagents and all criteria and procedures for the evaluation of the test data---"Full protocols" include a description of each and every step employed by the Government Analyst through the course of conducting test---High Court observed that report under R. 6 of Control of Narcotic Substances (Government Analysts) Rules, 2001 must specify every test applied for the determination of the seized substances with full protocols adopted to conduct such tests.
The State through Regional Director ANF v. Imam Bakhsh and others 2018 SCMR 2039; Muhammad Boota v. The State and another 2020 SCMR 196 and Qaisar Javed Khan v. The State and another PLD 2020 SC 57 ref.
(c) Criminal trial---
----Benefit of doubt---Principle---Single circumstance creating reasonable doubt regarding the prosecution case, is sufficient to give benefit of the same to the accused.
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