No doubt Section 11(3) of theFamily Court Act provides that the parties or their counsels may further examine, crossexamine or re-examine the witnesses,

 No doubt Section 11(3) of theFamily Court Act provides that the parties or their counsels may further examine, crossexamine or re-examine the witnesses, however, it has been held by the Hon’ble Supreme Court of Pakistan that such provisions are not meant and designed for enabling a party to fill up the omissions in the evidence of witness who has already been examined, due to negligence and lapse of a party, rather the purpose, the nature and the scope of the power available to the Court in that regard is to enable it to seek clarification on any issue or to have a doubt cleared in the statement of a witness which if left outstanding and without which it would be difficult for the Court to take a right decision.

The principle of equality of arms, which is a judicial construct adopted by the European Court of Human Rights, means giving each party a reasonable possibility to present its cause in such conditions as would not put one party in disadvantage to its opponent. In other words, there must be a fair balance between the opportunities afforded to the parties involved in litigation.

Proper opportunity having already provided to the petitioner to cross-examine PWs, to allow another opportunity to the petitioner to cross-examine any witness to fill up lacuna would be akin to place the petitioner at a comparative advantage over his opponent, which would be contrary to the principle of equality of arms and result in violation of Article 10A of the Constitution, therefore, the same could not be allowed.

W.P. No.81179 of 2022.
Muhammad Zuhaib Ishaq. Versus SCJ, etc.
2023 LHC 284