IN THE SUPREME COURT OF PAKISTAN 
(Appellate Jurisdiction) 
 
PRESENT: 
Mr. Justice Mushir Alam  
Mr. Justice Yahya Afridi 
Mr. Justice Qazi Muhammad Amin Ahmed 
 
 
Criminal Petition No.14-Q of 2021  
(Against the order dated 31.12.2020 passed by the High Court of Balochistan 
in Crl. Appeal No.323 of 2020) 
 
 
Naseem Khan 
 
 
…Petitioner(s) 
 
 
 
 
 
Versus 
 
 
The State  
 
…Respondent(s) 
 
For the Petitioner(s): 
Mr. Najeeb Ullah Kakai, ASC 
 
For the State: 
Mr. Abdul Baqar Shah, 
 
Addl. Prosecutor General, Balochistan 
 
Date of hearing: 
31.03.2021. 
 
ORDER 
 
 
 
Qazi Muhammad Amin Ahmed, J.- Riding on a bike, the 
petitioner was surprised by a contingent of Crime Investigation Agency 
Pashin with 3-k.g. of  cannabis, wrapped in three separate packets, 
concealed beneath the driving seat, on 7.9.2002; along with the 
contraband, he was handed over to the local police; a learned Additional 
Sessions Judge at Pashin, returned him a guilty verdict; convicted 
under clause (c) of section 9 of the Control of Narcotic Substances Act, 
1997, he was sentenced to 3-years R.I. with a direction to pay fine,  
pre-trial period inclusive, upheld by the High Court of Balochistan vide 
impugned judgment dated 31.12.2020, vires whereof, are being assailed 
primarily on the ground that notwithstanding, prosecution’s case that 
the raiding party secured sample from each packet, the forensic report 
relied upon by the prosecution purports a forensic analysis from one 
sample of 5 grams to confirm the narcotic character of the contraband. 
It is additionally argued that the petitioner, an errant youth in his first 
misadventure, deserves in circumstances a benevolent opportunity to 
reform himself so as to rehabilitate in mainstream life to become a 
useful member of the society, a possibility obstructed by his continuous 
stay in prison.  
Criminal Petition No. 14-Q of 2021 
2
2. 
 
Heard. Record perused. 
3. 
 
Though not specifically pleaded, the petitioner figures 
somewhat in the adolescent interregnum with no past history to his 
discredit; prosecution’s claim of possession of 3 k.g. of cannabis 
notwithstanding, the forensic report unambiguously refers to receipt of 
single sample of 5 grams.  
 
Purpose of administration of criminal justice is to ensure that 
majesty of law reigns supreme with peace and equilibrium in the 
society, it is not designed to wreak vengeance; it must provide 
opportunity to the errant to possibly reform himself so as to rejoin 
mainstream life as a useful member thereof. Prosecution’s reliance 
upon a single consolidated sample instead of dispatching three separate 
samples from each bag brings petitioner’s case within the purview of 
clause (b) of the section ibid and, thus, a corresponding reduction in his 
sentence 
is 
an 
option 
most 
conscionable 
in 
circumstances. 
Consequently, petitioner’s sentence is reduced to already undergone by 
him with reduction in fine to Rs.5000/- or to undergo two months SI in 
the event of default. Petition is converted into appeal and partly allowed.  
 
 
 
Judge 
 
 
Judge 
  
 
Judge 
Islamabad, the 
31st March, 2021 
Azmat/- 
