words per minute
6
GOLDEN_yadav
00:00
Speed
5. The nature and scope of the power of the court to summon, examine, recall and re-examine any witness in the context of Section 311 Cr.P.C. (and also the corresponding provision as contained in Section 540 of the Old Code of 1898) was subject matter of consideration in Mohanlal Shamji Soni v Union of India and another1, and it was held that the power in this regard is in the widest terms exercisable at any stage so long as the court is in seisin of the proceeding as may be considered essential for a just decision of the case.
6. In U.T. of Dadra and Nagar Haveli v Fatehsinh Mohansinh Chauhan2, while considering the power of the court to summon material witnesses under Section 311 Cr.P.C., it was opined that the said power can be exercised only with the object of finding out the truth or obtaining proper proof of facts which may lead to a just and correct decision.
7. The nature, scope and object of Section 311 Cr.P.C. came to be extensively discussed in Zahira Habibullah Sheikh (5) and another v State of Gujarat and others3, and a view was taken that the underlying object of the provision is that there may not be failure of justice on account of mistake of either party in bringing the valuable evidence on record or leaving ambiguity in the statements of the witnesses examined from either side.
8. A similar view was reiterated in P. Sanjeeva Rao v State of A.P.4, after referring to the earlier decisions in Hoffman Andreas v Inspector of Customs5, Mohanlal Shamji Soni v Union of India4 and Maria Margarida Sequeria Fernandes v Erasmo Jack de Sequeria6.
9. Considering the scope and object of Section 311 Cr.P.C. in Natasha Singh v CBI7, it was held that the power conferred is to be invoked by the court only in order to meet the ends of justice, for strong and valid reasons, and the same must be exercised with great caution and circumspection.
10. The nature and scope of the powers to be exercised by the court under Section 311 Cr.P.C. was elaborately considered in the case of Rajaram Prasad Yadav v State of Bihar and another8 and after considering the earlier precedents, the principles to be followed by the courts with regard to exercise of powers under the said section have been explained and enumerated. It has been stated thus:-
"14. A conspicuous reading of Section 311 CrPC would show that widest of the powers have been invested with the courts when it comes to the question of summoning a witness or to recall or re-examine any witness already examined. A reading of the provision shows that the expression "any" has been used as a prefix to "court", "inquiry", "trial", "other proceeding", "person as a witness", "person in attendance though not summoned as a witness", and "person already examined". By using the said expression "any" as a prefix to the various expressions mentioned above, it is ultimately stated that all that was required to be satisfied by the court was only in relation to such evidence that appears to the court to be essential for the just decision of the case. Section 138 of the Evidence Act, prescribed the order of examination of a witness in the court. The order of re-examination is also prescribed calling for such a witness so desired for such re-examination. Therefore, a reading of Section 311 CrPC and Section 138 Evidence Act, insofar as it comes to the question of a criminal trial, the order of re-examination at the desire of any person under Section 138, will have to necessarily be in consonance with the prescription contained in Section 311 CrPC. It is, therefore, imperative that the invocation of Section 311 CrPC and its application in a particular case can be ordered by the court, only by bearing in mind the object and purport of the said provision, namely, for achieving a just decision of the case as noted by us earlier. The power vested under the said provision is made available to any court at any stage in any inquiry or trial or other proceeding initiated under the Code for the purpose of summoning any person as a witness or for examining any person in attendance, even though not summoned as witness or to recall or re-examine any person already examined. Insofar as recalling and re-examination of any person already examined, the court must necessarily consider and ensure that such recall and re-examination of any person, appears in the view of the court to be essential for the just decision of the case. Therefore, the paramount requirement is just decision and for that purpose the essentiality of a person to be recalled and re-examined has to be ascertained. To put it differently, while such a widest power is invested with the court, it is needless to state that exercise of such power should be made judicially and also with extreme care and caution.