Forensic Justice in Pakistan: The Evidentiary Value, Judicial Interpretation, and Institutional Challenges of DNA Profiling in Sexual Offence Trials

Abstract

This study critically examines the jurisprudential and systemic barriers preventing DNA profiling from operating as conclusive evidence in Pakistan’s sexual offence trials, analyzing the profound tension between scientific certainty and orthodox legal frameworks. This study employs a rigorous doctrinal and socio-legal approach to evaluate statutory provisions, namely Articles 59 and 164 of the Qanun-e-Shahadat Order, 1984, alongside recent appellate jurisprudence, including Atif Zareef v. The State and Muhammad Hassan v. The State, supplemented by institutional gap analyses. This study reveals a paralyzing forensic paradox within the criminal justice system. While the Anti-Rape (Investigation and Trial) Act, 2021 progressively outlaws’ archaic practices, such as the two-finger test, appellate courts rigidly relegate DNA to a mere corroborative status. This judicial conservatism is severely compounded by deep institutional bottlenecks, particularly chronic chain-of-custody violations by untrained law enforcement and acute infrastructural disparities outside the Punjab Forensic Science Agency. Consequently, when substantive ocular testimony fails, the entire prosecutorial case invariably collapses, despite mathematical biological certainty. To transition from a highly witness-dependent paradigm to genuine forensic justice, the legislature must urgently amend evidentiary laws to elevate uncompromised DNA matches to substantive proof. Furthermore, mandatory ISO certification for all provincial laboratories and the establishment of a centralized national database are strictly imperative to cure the systemic failures frustrating rape prosecutions.