HC: witnesses turning hostile a culture now

The observations were made while the court was hearing the state’s appeal against acquittals. One appeal challenged the acquittal of a person charged with the murder of his wife. Another pertained to the acquittal of a man charged with the murder of his grandmother.

The court was surprised to know that even the victim’s parents,brother and son had turned hostile during the trial. “We find it strange that even the parents turned hostile. This needs to be probed,” Justice Desai said. The court asked the state why they can’t issue perjury notices to such witnesses. “It’s time you started doing this otherwise it will be impossible to secure conviction since reinvestigation would yield nothing,” the bench told Additional Public Prosecutor Hitendra Dedhia. The court has now sought Advocate General Ravi Kadam’s assistance to frame guidelines to tackle the issue. “If there is a consistent pattern in witnesses turning hostile,the judge can’t just sit and watch,” Justice Desai said.

The court also observed that investigations have become perfunctory as now a days the police don’t even take evidence like fingerprints to support their case. “Almost 50 per cent of witnesses are turning hostile now that result in acquittals,” the court observed. The court on Wednesday directed the investigation officer of Shahpuri police station who investigated the wife’s murder to remain present in court on Friday. In the appeal regarding the grandmother’s murder,the court asked Additional Public Prosecutor Swapnil Pednekar to submit evidence before the next hearing.