KARACHI: The Sindh High Court has directed the provincial authorities to ensure that a specific law was available to benefit from modern devices in the investigation of criminal cases.

The SHC also asked the provincial police officer that the names and other details of all the absconding accused persons should be published in newspapers within two months.

While hearing a matter about the ‘A-class’ cases, in which accused persons are unknown or untraceable, a single bench headed by Justice Salahuddin Panhwar sought a detailed report from the law department at the next hearing regarding legislation on use of modern devices.

At the outset of the hearing, an additional prosecutor general informed the bench that he along with the amicus curiae and counsel for petitioner visited the DNA laboratory and criminal record office (CRO) and since there was no specific law on modern devices including DNA, the version of lab authorities was that they were handicapped and unable to function properly.

Subsequently, the bench directed the law department to file a detailed report on its working with regard to legislation and in case the department has not undertaken any proposal or legislation, it must constitute a committee comprising representatives of IG, prosecutor general Sindh as well as the three amicus curiae, who are assisting the court in this matter.

The committee will submit proposals and the authorities must ensure that a specific law is available to get benefit of modern devices, it added.

The in-charge of CRO contented that they possessed devices like CRMS and PITB and the same may be included in the proposed legislation with regard to modern devices.

The bench also directed the IGP that there must be publication of all the absconders with their names, CNIC, parentage and nature of offences, adding that such publication be published in vernacular national newspapers having wide circulation and to complete the exercise within two months.

These directions were issued on an application filed in 2018 in which the applicant submitted that he lodged an FIR at Ferozabad police station, but police failed to arrest the accused and filed A-class report, adding that he had received some information about the accused and approached the district and sessions court concerned for reinvestigation, but the plea was dismissed on the ground that the order passed by magistrate on police report was not amendable.

In a previous hearing, AIGP (legal) had submitted a report about the A-class cases and as per the report, there are 75,267 A-class cases pending in the province while 25,205 such cases are in Karachi.

Death sentence set aside

The SHC on Thursday set aside the death sentence of a seminary teacher in the murder of his underage student after both sides reached a compromise.

An additional district and sessions court Malir had sentenced Qari Najmuddin to death in September 2019 for beating nine-year-old Mohammad Hussain to death at his seminary in Jan 2018 in a Bin Qasim locality.

The appellant had challenged his conviction before the SHC and during the pendency of the appeal, it was informed that both sides have reached a compromise and placed the same before the bench.

The two-judge bench headed by Justice K.K. Agha sent the compromise agreement to a district and sessions judge for verification and the district judge filed a report in November declaring the compromise as genuine.

The bench accepted the compromise with an observation that the legal heirs were competent to compound/forgive the convict and set aside the death penalty.

According to the prosecution, Qari Najmuddin had subjected the boy to corporal punishment and the child ran away. On Jan 21 the child’s parents brought him back to the seminary when he tried to flee again, but this time Najmuddin got hold of him and subjected him to a beating using a stick.

Published in Dawn, January 18th, 2020