The Karnataka High Court has issued several key guidelines to be followed by the trial Courts while recording statements of the accused under Section 313 of Criminal Procedure Code. Justice Sreenivas Harish Kumar issued these guidelines while setting aside the statement recorded by a Sessions Court in a murder case.
The HC said that the Trial Courts should not insist upon the accused to give answers in one word, either ‘true’ or ‘false’. The Court said that Section 313 of the Criminal Procedure Code embodies the fundamental principle of 'Audi Alteram Partem' & hence questions must be simple & specific to the evidence against the accused.
The Court said that "Sometimes, a witness may give evidence as regards the collective overt act of two or more accused & in that event a single question may be framed, but each accused must be questioned individually, & their answers must be recorded separately. It is also possible that two or more witnesses may speak identically regarding the overt act of an accused. In that event, the substance of their evidence may be put in a single question".
In the guidelines issued by the HC, the Trial Courts have been directed to pick only incriminatory evidence from oral & documentary evidence & the attention of each accused must be drawn to the evidence adverse or against him/her. In case, a witness has recorded evidence as regards the collective overt act of two or more accused, a single question may be framed. However, each accused must be questioned individually, the bench said.
The guidelines also said that the attention of the accused must be drawn to the marked documents & material objects if they are incriminatory. The accused shall be questioned regarding mahazars or panchanamas only if they contain incriminatory evidence. The Court added that the accused need not be questioned in regard to the evidence given by the formal witnesses unless anything incriminatory is found in such evidence.
The Court has directed the Registrar General of the HC to circulate the order to all the Trial Courts in the State & also directed the Karnataka Judicial Academy to prepare model questionnaires & circulate to the Trial Courts for their guidance.
In the matter at hand, 2 petitioners who are accused in a murder case had challenged the statement recorded by the Trial Judge in Mysuru. They contended that the Judge insisted upon them to answer in a single word, either false or true to the lengthy questions posed by the Court.
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