This matter concerned a petition for leave to appeal filed by Shazia Bibi against her conviction under Section 9(c) of the Control of Narcotic Substances Act, 1997, for possessing 4 kilograms of cannabis. She was sentenced to four years' rigorous imprisonment and a fine, a judgment upheld in appeal. The petitioner argued she was falsely implicated as a scapegoat due to police animosity towards her husband and that the prosecution failed to provide complete details/protocol of forensic tests. The Supreme Court declined leave to appeal, finding that the substantial quantity of contraband made the scapegoat defense incredible, especially given her silence when produced before a Magistrate. The Court also held that the forensic report, which explicitly detailed the tests performed (weighing, chemical spot tests, Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry), sufficiently met statutory requirements, rendering the argument about missing protocol beside the mark. The concurrent findings of the lower courts were upheld.
QAZI MUHAMMAD AMIN AHMED, J.---Shazia Bibi, petitioner herein, was apprehended with 4-kilograms of cannabis during a random search on 28.12.2016 by a police contingent of Attock Khurd; she was on board a public vehicle hailing from Peshawar; forensic report established narcotic character of the contraband; upon conclusion of trial, convicted under section 9(c) of the Control of Narcotic Substances Act, 1997, she was sentenced to four years' rigorous imprisonment with a direction to pay Rs.20,000/- as fine or to undergo four months' simple imprisonment in lieu thereof, vide judgment dated 23.2.2017, upheld in appeal vide impugned judgment dated 15.11.2018, vires whereof, are being assailed on the grounds that she has been targeted as a scapegoat by the police to settle score with her husband, a driver by profession, on loggerheads with the police over illegal demands.
It is next argued that the case was liable to be thrown out for prosecution's failure to come up with complete details/protocol of forensic tests, carried out to establish the nature of contraban d allegedly recovered. Learned Law Of ficer faithfully defended the impugned judgment.
2. Heard. Record perused.
3. Quantity recovered, rather substantial in volume/weight, cannot be possibly foisted upon a female to victimize her husband, himself a most suitable target, if at all the police had an axe to grind. All the prosecution witnesses including those of recovery have been found by us well within tune with one anothe r; soon after her arrest, with the assistance of a female staffer, she was produced before a Magistrate who remitted her into judicial custody , a most opportune occasion to raise protest; her silence goes a long way to rebut the belat edly related story that otherwise may not find a buyer . Argument that the forensic report sans protocol is beside the mark as well inasmuch as tests carried, out by the analyst are vividly mentioned therein, reproduced for the convenience of reference:- "Test Performed on Received Item(s) of Evidence
1. Top load balance was used for weighing.
2. Chemical Spot T ests were used for Presumptive T esting.
3. Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry was used for confirmation.
Results and Conclusions Item # 01 3982 gram(s) of dark brown resinous material in sealed parcel contains Charas ."
Above details mentioned in the forensic report substantially/suf ficiently qualify to meet the statutory requirements.
Findings concurrently arrived by the Courts below , being well within the remit of law, do not call for interference.
Petition fails. Leave declined.