DEVELOPMENT OF FAIR TRIAL AT PRE-TRIAL STAGE WITH SPECIFIC REFERENCE TO IDENTIFICATION PARADE OF THE ACCUSED

Abstract

Fair trial is normally a term used in the context of the courtroom; however, its integrity relies heavily on what happens beforehand, at the stage of investigation. This article discusses the evolution of the fair trial pre-trial stage in Pakistan with particular emphasis on the identification parade, as an important and under-scrutinized area of risk for a fair trial. The problem of research is how the constitutional guarantee of fair trial and due process as contained in Article 10-A of the Constitution of Pakistan, added by the Eighteenth Amendment in 2010, is applied practically in the identification of the accused during the investigation process, and what measures could be suggested to enhance its application. Taking a doctrinal and analytical approach, the article discusses the constitutional framework, the Qanun-e-Shahadat Order 1984, provincial High Court Rules, and examines a substantial body of Pakistani case law on delayed, contaminated, and improperly conducted identification parades, and places this within a comparative framework from the United Kingdom, the United States, and India. The analysis reveals that, in theory, the Pakistani doctrine is reasonably developed, and gains from scientific studies of eyewitness memory have increased over time, but there remains a considerable disconnect between the theory and practice of the doctrine at the level of police and trial courts, partly due to institutional resource constraints such as large case backlogs. Issues raised are the unexplained delay, exposure of the witnesses to the suspects, confirmation bias in the investigation, and lack of scrutiny at trial of flawed parades.