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Sycorax Juris   27 November 2017

Rights of accused to obtain documents under section 207 crpc

Framing of charge against the accused under section 455 IPC, completed and it is now slated for examination of 8 witnesses, out of which 6 witness statements was recorded in writing by the investigating officer. On filling of Charge sheets with all the names of 8 witnesses in the witness column, I filed application under Section 207 and 238 CrPc, for furnishing those 6 witness statements recorded in writing, but the prosecution objected under Clause (3) of section 172 CrPc, and despite my submission that it is the right of the accused to obtain such documents, the Magistrate refused my submission, holding that the accused will be given chance to read those documents in the last stage only. Is this the right proceedings? Please help with Supreme Court or any High Courts judgments on this subject.



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 7 Replies

N.K.Assumi (Advocate)     27 November 2017

Firstly, under that Section 173 CrPC, 1973, the police officer investigating into a cognizable offence is under a statutory obligation to submit along with his report under Section 173(5) documents purporting to furnish evidence collected in the course of the investigation and the statements of the witnesses. Police report unaccompanied by those documents as referred to under 175 (5)  CrPc, is  not a report in the eye of law, and cognizance is illegal liable to be quashed.

 Secondly, the Court before proceeding into the case is not only under a duty but a solemn duty to inquire whether the accused has been furnished with copies of all relevant documents received under Section 173 CrPc, and this direction is same in Session trial under Section 209 CrPc. That Section 172 (2) CrPc is entirely different from the documents referred to in section 207, 209 and 238 of the Criminal Procedure Code. Imagine a trial without furnishing to the accused those documents as referred to under Sections 207, 209 and 238 CrPc, it will virtually jettisoned the Indian Evidence Act, and rendered the trial a sham and may vitiate the whole proceedings, as the defence counsel will by fighting the case like a blind man trying to catch a sparrow. Any documents or things that are likely to prejudice the accused case should be brought to the notice of the accused as early as possible, as it was never the intention of the law maker to hide those things from the accused and surprised him in the eleventh hour. Even under the Official Secrets Act, “It is nowhere stated that copies of documents should not be furnished to the accused.

Thirdly, the right of accused to receive documents as envisaged under sections 207, 209 and 238 of the criminal procedure code, goes far beyond those sections, touching Article 21 of the Constitution of India and landing in Universal Declarations of Human Rights and the International Covenants on Civil and Political Rights of the accused, and this has been demonstrated by various High Courts and the Supreme Court in various celebrated Judgments. Check your mail for SC and HCs Judgments on this very subject, which has been posted to you.

A very interesting issue on this subject is now pending before the Supreme Court filed by the National Investigating Agency against the order of Karnataka High Court, which upheld the order of Sessions judge directing the NIA to furnish all the   evidence it had collected on the alleged espionage activity of a Lashkar-e-Toiba terror module, which was busted in 2012 in Bengaluru, to the 11 accused under Section 207 CrPc. According to NIA, the report contains highly sensitive and confidential data vulnerable for the safety and security of the Government of India, and privileged information could not be shared and given in the public domain. Whereas the learned Sessions Judge observed  “It is nowhere stated in the Official Secrets Act, that copies of documents should not be furnished to the accused,” So stay tune to this Judgment of the Apex Court.

 

Sycorax Juris   27 November 2017

Thanks a million N.K.Assumi.

Dr J C Vashista (Advocate)     28 November 2017

Very well explaied and advised by expert Mr. NK Assumi qua the procedure beyond the scope of query.

 

S Murugesan (lawyer)     27 June 2018

Very good msg. Eventhough eveyone knows this. But practically this not possible at free of cost.

Mohammed   24 February 2019

Dear sir Also mail me the High court and supreme court judgements on this subject..Very useful info.my mail id is mushy204@gmail.com

Anvisha   04 May 2019

Dear Sir 

Please share the high court and supreme court judgements on the above related case in favour of accused.

advanvisha@gmail.com

Thank you for your anticipation.

Siddharth Dash   12 March 2022

@Anvisha @Mohammed, if you have details of those judgement pls forward it to me at dash.siddharth01@gmail.com

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