The Supreme Court has recently cancelled the bail plea of a man accused of conspiring to kill his wife when she refused to give consent for mutual divorce and recalled some witnesses for re-examination, remarking that witnesses play a very vital role in bringing justice home. The court stated, “A major challenge before this Court is to ensure a fair trial amidst the hostility of witnesses.”
The top court stated, “Undoubtedly, witnesses play a very vital role in bringing justice home, especially in the adversarial system of court trials where the onus lies on the prosecution to prove the guilt of the accused by bringing persons acquainted with the facts before the courts of justice.”
Furthermore, the top court stated, “Their (witnesses) testimony determines the fate of a trial before the court of law, without which the court would be like a sailor in an ocean san the radar and the compass.”
Additionally, “If a witness turns hostile for extenuating reasons and is reluctant to depose the unvarnished truth, it will cause irreversible damage to the administration of justice, and the faith of society at large in the efficacy and credibility of the criminal justice system will be eroded and shattered.”
The bench observed that the stand of the witnesses in the examination-in-chief is diametrically opposite to the one in the cross-examination. The apex court stated, “In the case at hand, the family members of the deceased are the most crucial witnesses to test the veracity of the allegations levelled by the prosecution. Their stand in the examination in-chief is diametrically opposite to the one in the cross-examination.”
The court pointed out that the fact that the parents and sister of the deceased have reiterated from their earlier standpoint, “where they had been found to be agitating vigorously before different forums since the year 2019, implores us to invoke our constitutional powers under Article 142 read with Section 311 CrPC and direct their recalling for a fresh cross-examination after ensuring a congenial environment, free from any kind of threat, psychological fear, or any inducement.”
The court added, “We, thus, find it a case fit for recalling the witnesses (PW1, PW4, and PW5) for their further cross-examination to reach an effective decision in the subject trial. We, however, hasten to add that power to recall witnesses under Section 311 CrPC ought to be exercised sparingly, and mere hostility by a witness, per se, would not be a sufficient ground to infer misuse of concession of bail.”
The court set aside the Karnataka High Court order whereby it granted bail to the man.
According to the deceased family, the man and his family members were harassing the deceased after the birth of their child and pressured her to sign the divorce papers.
Family members accused the man of having an extramarital affair.
The woman was found dead in her apartment in December 2019.