Decoy witness's evidence in Pakistan: An ethical and legal Conundrum

Decoy witnesses are employed by investigating agencies to grab culprits particularly in corruption cases and cases of selling and possessing of intoxicants. This mode of laying trap against the accused persons gives rise to many controversies. Numerous ethical and legal issues envelop the relevance of decoy witnesses’ evidence and the weight appended to it in criminal cases. The present paper is meant to debate such issues with reference to Pakistan's legal system. Though the issues in Pakistan's legal system are not substantially different from the rest of the world, but one unique categorization devised by Pakistani judiciary has given such issues a relatively differing complexion. The paper will analyze the decided cases by the superior judiciary to bring to the fore how it has rationalized its reliance on decoy witness's evidence in some cases while excluding others. This judicial attitude can be labeled as pragmatic and realist.