Denying accused right to summon witness will derail fair trial, says Supreme Court
‘Best available evidence must be brought before court to prove a fact’
The trial court cannot deny an accused the right to summon witnesses he/she has cited for examination at any stage of trial, the Supreme Court has held.
“Fair trial entails the interests of the accused, the victim and of society, and therefore, includes the grant of fair and proper opportunities to the person concerned, and the same must be ensured as this is a constitutional as well as human right, said a Bench of Justices B.S. Chauhan and Ibrahim Kalifulla
Adducing evidence in support of defence was a valuable right. Denial of such right would amount to denial of a fair trial. It was a cardinal rule of the law of evidence that the best available evidence must be brought before the court to prove a fact or a point in issue, the Bench said.
The Cr.PC conferred a very wide discretionary power on the court in this respect. It might summon any person as a witness at any stage of the trial or other proceedings, even suo motu if no application was filed by either of the parties.
