ANF questions judge’s stance in Sanaullah’s case

Maintains section 94 of CrPC is being misconstrued, misinterpreted and misused

LAHORE: The Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF) termed the duty judge’s order in the Rana Sanaullah drug case as the conduct of “travelling beyond jurisdiction” under which the application of the defence was allowed while the plea of the prosecution was dismissed.

“That by provoking jurisdiction under section 94 of the CrPC at this stage, the court has set a bad precedent and opened Pandora’s box for future” the ANF maintained.

The ANF’s deputy director (Law) regional headquarter challenged the alleged impugned order in the Lahore High Court (LHC) passed by the Control of Narcotic Substances’ (CNS) duty judge under which the application, filed by the defence seeking direction to summon the Call Data Record (CDR) as an urgent matter, was allowed but the application, filed by prosecution seeking direction to frame charges on accused Rana Sanaullah was dismissed on October 18, 2019.

“The judge has travelled beyond his jurisdiction while hearing and deciding the application,” the ANF’s petition said.

Rana Sanaullah sent on 14-day judicial remand

The section 94 of CrPC is being misconstrued, misinterpreted and misused as the court is being used as an investigating officer, the ANF stated.

The duty judge failed to note that the case was at the stage of 265-D of CrPC and there were neither any trial nor investigation nor any inquiry pending before the court.

The CDR is usually preserved by the mobile service provider company for one year and thus the issue was neither urgent nor there was any comprehension over its loss or destruction.

The principle of a fair trial applies to the prosecution also and the same could not be defeated by abusing the process of law. The order was passed at a premature stage, the ANF claimed.

During the arguments, the prosecution raised questions regarding the production of CCTV footage beyond the period prescribed in SOPs.

The ANF requested the court to set aside the impugned order passed by CNS’s duty judge working beyond jurisdiction.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 30^th, 2019.