Godhra carnage: Court says no to sting operation as evidence

Lawyers of these accused had moved the application demanding to bring as evidence the DVD of the sting operation,its transcript and the report of the Jaipur Forensic Science Laboratory,which had certified that the CD of the sting operation was not tampered with. The application had further sought to summon the reporter who carried out the sting operation as witness in the case.

Prosecution had opposed the application contending the sting operation was not admissible as evidence in the case of witnesses. Special Public Prosecutor J M Panchal had argued that the extra-judicial confessions made by the accused in the sting operation can be admissible as evidence,but it cannot be admissible with reference to the witnesses.

The prosecution had also contended that the reporter who did the sting operation was not an authorised person like the investigating officer to collect evidence,and that the sting operation was an evidence collected by deception.

The court of Additional Sessions Judge P R Patel rejected the application,observing that a sting operation carried out by a person without authority cannot be accepted or permitted to be put as an evidence especially when the Supreme Court has deprecated such sting operations.