High Court has criticized Prosecutor General alleging attempts were made to conceal the government's negligence in a lower court which led to the acquittal of a suspect tied to drugs.
A suspect arrested with alleged involvement in drug trafficking earlier in September was acquitted by the Criminal Court citing the suspect lacked a criminal record in the last five years.
Although packets used to enclose drugs along with a weighing scale used to weigh them were found inside the suspect's residence, the details were not adduced as evidence in the court.
Police also refrained from addressing rumors of discovering the drugs from the roof of the suspect's residence and blood discovered on their hand.
The case was appealed at the High Court with the court issuing its order on Monday, October 23.
In the order, the appellate court identified police did not induce any evidence related to the discovery of the drugs or the blood allegedly discovered from the suspect's hand. The court said that since the evidences were not admitted in the lower court, the court will not be able to weigh them, and neither can it be used as a reference in the appellate court.
High Court in its order, held it as a negligence on the part of the state and criticized the government for attempts made to conceal its incompetency.
"The attempts by the state to obscure incompetency by appealing cases to render lower-court rulings void, which itself is based on the degree and extent of the crime and the circumstances leading to the suspect's acquittal, should not be identified as an acceptable legal principle," the appellate court's order said.
High Court further said the state did not follow Criminal Procedure Act, and did not fact-check with the police regarding the case before it was submitted to the Criminal Court.
The court said that the appeal presented by the state was presented implicating that details which initially were not submitted to the lower court, was in fact adduced as evidence. This would portray judges in a false, negative manner, High Court added, and cautioned the state and prosecutors to refrain from such conduct. The decision was unanimous by the entire appellate court judges' bench.
"Anyone listening only to the argument presented by the state will think the lower courts were negligent in their responsibilities, and that it was acquitting suspects of drug trafficking despite the evidence. This sets a bad impression of judges," the High Court ruling read.
After pointing out the issues, High Court upheld the lower court's decision.
The bench that presided over the case consisted of Justices Dheebanaaz Fahmy, Mohamed Niyaz, and Hussain Shaheed with Dheebanaaz presiding as the chair.
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