LAHORE:
The Lahore High Court (LHC) has ruled that the testimony of a prosecution witness declared a proclaimed offender (PO) in other cases can be recorded.
LHC Justice Tariq Saleem Sheikh was hearing a case involving one Husnain Ali Nasir who was a proclaimed offender in two cases but his sister had lodged a separate case.
Husnain’s sister filed an application before a judicial magistrate praying that he be allowed to record his evidence through video link as he is in the United States for medical treatment after being injured in an attack.
Her request was declined through an order dated March 28 last year.
The complainant then filed a petition before the additional sessions judge of Daska, which was also dismissed on May 29, 2024.
Both courts held that a “fugitive from law loses his normal rights”.
They noted that Husnain had left the country without the permission of the court concerned and had been declared a proclaimed offender after due process.
They observed that permitting him to testify via video link in the case in which he was an injured prosecution witness would be unfair to respondents, particularly because he remained a proclaimed offender in two other cases lodged in 2019 by the same rivals.
After that, petitioner Nosheen Ali Nasir challenged the orders before the LHC.
The legal questions that arose for consideration were whether the testimony of a witness might be recorded through video link in criminal proceedings and whether such testimony might be recorded if the witness was a proclaimed offender in another case.
The court observed that video conferencing is a technological development that enables real-time visual and audio communication between individuals in different places. Its use in judicial proceedings, including criminal trials, has expanded considerably in recent years. Courts have adopted it to reduce delays, protect vulnerable witnesses, and address logistical or security challenges while maintaining procedural fairness.
