High Court Corruption and Economic Crimes Division - 2022 June

4 judgments
  • Filters
  • Judges
  • Alphabet
Sort by:
4 judgments
Citation
Judgment date
June 2022
Material contradictions in police evidence on search and seizure undermined the prosecution, resulting in acquittal for alleged drug trafficking.
Criminal law – narcotic drugs trafficking; burden of proof beyond reasonable doubt; search and seizure irregularities; credibility of police witnesses; chain of custody of seized exhibits.
24 June 2022
Narcotics charges failed from broken chain of custody and contradictory evidence; first accused convicted for firearm possession.
Drugs — trafficking — failure to prove statutory weight threshold; material contradictions and broken chain of custody vitiate narcotics evidence; omnibus/lamped charging objectionable; firearms — possession — conviction based on uncontroverted seizure and admission.
17 June 2022
Prosecution failed to prove trafficking: defective seizure documentation, broken chain of custody, and uncorroborated retracted confession.
* Criminal law – Narcotics – Trafficking – proof beyond reasonable doubt – ownership and residence nexus for seized drugs – integrity of search and seizure documents. * Evidence – Chain of custody – unexplained delay and resealing of samples – impairment of evidential value. * Confessions – retracted caution statements – need for independent corroboration.
16 June 2022
Accused acquitted where material contradictions, flawed search procedures and defective chain of custody raised reasonable doubt.
* Criminal law – Trafficking in narcotic drugs – proof beyond reasonable doubt. * Search and seizure – legality and timing of search at checkpoint. * Evidence — witness credibility and material contradictions in prosecution account. * Chain of custody — preservation, transfer and integrity of exhibits submitted for chemical analysis.
15 June 2022