Supreme court expresses concern on harassment of witness in trial

Dwelling at length on the plight of witnesses, the Apex court said, "He is pushed out of the crowded courtroom by the peon. He waits for the whole day and at the end of it finds that the matter is adjourned, and he does not even get a glass of water and proper place to sit."

Expressing a serious concern over such treatment, the court said it was one of the reasons why a person "abhors" becoming a witness.

Asking the High Courts to be more "vigilant" in such matters, the bench said it was necessary to put "the criminal Justice system on the right pedestal, as it cannot be left with the unscrupulous lawyers and sluggish state machinery."

It has become a "fashion" among the lawyers to have the cases adjourned again and again till the witnesses are tired and give up, the court observed, adding, "It is the game of unscrupulous lawyers to get adjournments for one excuse or the other till a witness is won over."

The court said in the instant case, the prosecution had to leave aside more than 50 witnesses because all of them were allegedly won over by the accused persons.

The conviction was mainly possible on the statements of seven other witnesses, it said adding that this raised several questions why the police had to give up over 50 witnesses.

"It only shows that the criminal Justice system is in doldrums. There has to be honest investigation, uninfluenced by any political or other pressure," the court said.

While expressing opinion for amendment of clause (B) of section 240(3) of Criminal Procedure Code in respect of the High Court’s power to direct any officer to file complaint in a criminal case, the Apex Court said that the subordinate courts should resort to using the provisions contained in Chapter 25 of the code to get rid of the "evil of purjury".