Supreme Court: Witness testimony can establish chain of custody in drug-related cases

Supreme Court, on Sunday, has issued a practice direction stating that chain of custody in drug-related cases may be established from witness testimonies.  

The practice direction signed by Chief Justice Ahmed Muthasim Adnan read that in circumstances where the chain of custody form does not exist, or there are doubts regarding the chain of custody – witness testimonies of all persons included in the chain will suffice in establishing the fact that the evidence seized belonged to the accused or was collected from a place owned or under the control of the accused.

Failure to establish chain of custody in drug-related case often leads to charges against the accused not being proven beyond reasonable doubt at court.

The chain of custody refers to the process which the evidence has been handled during the investigation of a case. For evidence to be considered admissible at court, an unbroken chain of custody must be proven beyond reasonable doubt.