LAHORE: The Lahore High Court (LHC) held that the polygraph technique can be used to determine the guilt of an accused provided it is conducted by a knowledgeable expert.
The court passed these observations in an appeal of one Muhammad Aslam and said the polygraph test conducted in this case is short of information, and also lacks of competency of an expert could not add any value to the prosecution case for the determination of the guilt of the accused.
The court said that the prosecution had miserably failed to establish the charge against the accused, and set aside the impugned judgment.
The court acquitted the appellant of the charge against him and ordered to release the appellant forthwith if not required in any other case.
The court said true findings of a polygraph test cannot be equated with the admission of guilt and does not provide a ground for conviction solely on such findings but more or less it being confession can be considered a relevant fact in conjunction with other evidence on the record.
A significant criticism of polygraph is that sometimes the physiological responses are misread as those triggered by deception but it can be the best investigative tool to take the lead for the collection of directed evidence, the court added.
The court held that in our regime, certain provisions of law support the evidentiary value of polygraph tests and give it a legal cover as a modern device.
The court said in this new era of the digital age, barring some jurisdictions, a polygraph test is regarded as an investigative technique to unearth the truth.
Therefore, the report of the polygraph test should not be thrown away from consideration and the best course can be the summoning of experts if any confusion arises while drawing inferences from such report, the court concluded.
The appellant Muhammad Aslam and Fiaz Ahmad faced trial before Additional Sessions Judge, Depalpur in an FIR under sections 302/34 PPC.
Fiaz Ahmad was acquitted, whereas, Muhammad Aslam was convicted under section 302(b) PPC and sentenced to imprisonment for life, with compensation of Rs.300000 to be paid to the legal heirs of the deceased.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2023
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