LAHORE: The Lahore High Court has ruled that an accused person has the right to obtain a video recording of the alleged raid in a case against him.

A two-judge bench, comprising Justice Farooq Haider and Justice Ali Zia Bajwa, issued the ruling on an appeal filed by Iqbal Nasir, who is currently facing trial in a narcotics case.

According to the prosecution, a police official recorded the raid, including the arrest of the appellant, on his mobile phone. This video was preserved on a USB device.

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The trial court had previously rejected Mr Na­­sir’s application for access to the video recording. However, Justice Haider, who authored the judgement, observed that under Article 87 of the Qanun-i-Shahadat Order, 1984, any person entitled to inspect a public document can also obtain a copy of it.

Judge says providing accused with video essential for him to prepare defence

Justice Haider noted that an accused person has the right to inspect the police report and its annexed documents, except for police diaries prepared under Section 172 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC). Therefore, the accused is entitled to receive a copy of any document mentioned in or attached to the police report, excluding the police diary.

The judge pointed out that the prosecution had confirmed the video of the raid was preserved on a USB, which was secured during the investigation and intended to be presented during the trial as evidence to support the charges.

Therefore, Justice Hai­der said that providing the accused with a copy of the video is essential for him to review the contents and prepare a def­e­nce, including cross-exa­mination. He expressed regret that the trial court had overlooked this legal aspect when rejecting the application.

The bench allowed the appeal and directed the trial court to provide Mr Nasir with a copy of the USB recording.

Published in Dawn, October 23rd, 2024