Supreme Court. PHOTO: EXPRESS/FILE
The chemical examiner’s report is so sensitive that it can send a person to jail for life or even to the gallows, Supreme Court Justice Dost Muhammad Khan wrote, while authoring a 10-page judgment in a case of narcotics.
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A wrongly analysed alkaloid and its intoxication power may unjustly deprive a person of his liberty, he said.
Poppy is a popular spice widely used in cooking and its leaves and straw are also brewed with tea, however, the same plant is a source of opium. The apex court asked the government to make a distinction between the two uses, which tend to confuse the legal proceedings.
“The government and the legislature may take guidance from the international conventions besides the research of the experts on the subject so that the meaning of opium with regard to poppy straw is clearly provided and present confusion in the definition clauses is adequately removed.
Therefore, we direct the government to make an early effort for doing the needful,” says the order
The court also asked the Attorney General for Pakistan and the secretary of Narcotics Division to direct all laboratories headed by the chemical examiners to comply with the guidelines.
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The judgment says that carrying narcotics is an offence punishable by long sentence and even death; therefore, the chemical examiner’s report must clearly define the potency of the intoxicating substance recovered from any suspect.
“No one can be deprived of his lifelong liberty or sent to gallows unless and until the chemical examiner possesses the required qualification and experience, duly notified by the federal government,” he wrote.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 21st, 2016.
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