Why Police Cover the Face of Accused?
Police cover the face of accused of few reasons. You have often seen especially on television that when Police presents the accused before the media their faces are covered with a black cloth after seen this a question arises in back of the mind that why Police don’t show the face of accused?
A few years back when I was not aware the facts behind the covered faces of accused before presenting them before media, I thought Police should show their faces before media so that everyone gets a lesson that if they commit the crime they can also be behind bars.
When I came to know about this then realized that it is the Constitution of Pakistan that says every accused person is innocent until his crime is proved. And if the Police showed the face of the criminals or accused then the general public would get it as he is the real and original criminal behind this crime before his crime is proved in the court of law.
This thing is not in line with the justice delivery system and also has a negative impact on his reputation and honor. There is another fact that why police covered the face of accused and that is Identification Parade.
In Identification Parade, Police shows 4 to 5 similar-looking person like the accused such as body weight, height, and color and then calls the complainant to identify the real criminal. So, if the Police reveal the face of the accused before the identification parade then there is no benefit of the identification parade. For perfect identification, it is necessary that police do not reveal the face of accused or it does so then this action will not do proper justice to the accused person.
Identification Parade is also very useful that if it not done with the proper rules and regulation then the defender’s lawyer will get the benefit of it and explain to the court that the Police did not do the Identification parade properly and if the court is satisfied then the defender has many benefits.
OK let’s talk about a rule which is Presumption of Innocence
Law of Presumption of Innocence
Presumption of Innocence is a legal principle which means that every accused is innocent until his guilt is proved. To prove the guilt, it is the duty of the complainant or persecution to collect and present the evidence before the court of law so that the criminals could be punished accordingly.
If the proper evidence is not there then the court may acquit the accused. The rule of presumption of innocence is applicable is no many counties as well as in Pakistan. It is stated as a universal right of every accused in article 11 of Universal Declaration of Human Right of 1948 which states that “no shall be held guilty until proved”.
This principal was there in Roman Law, English Law as well as in Islamic Law and it is also proved through Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) and through his holy sayings.
For better understanding, you can view the following video.
Conclusion
To conclude the above said arguments it can adhere that Police does right by covering the face of accused and it is a legal principle that is applicable in many modern countries of the world.
