INTRODUCTION
This article highlights the purpose and procedure for interviewing the accused as a witness in defence. Under Section 118 of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872 any person who is not impaired due to his extreme elderly age or tender years or childhood may be a competent witness in a court of law.
This clause means that any person may be a witness regardless of his or her position and role in the trial. Currently, there are three types of witnesses in criminal law; that is, Prosecution Witness, defence Witness and witness to the Court.
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An individual the prosecution wants to investigate in court for the reason of potentially providing statements in his favour, is considered the prosecutor's witness, unlike the plaintiff or suspect whose status is a charge-sheet witness who refers to the prosecutor's office.
In the opposite, Defendant Witnesses are considered the experts that the complainant wants to question in court by presenting testimony in his behalf and in his favour. In addition, according to Section 311, the court shall be empowered to call any person relevant to the case or familiar with the facts of the case as a witness to testify and answer the questions put to him by the court. Such person is referred to as Court Witness.
ACCUSED AS COMPETENT WITNESS
As already mentioned in section 118, a person is a qualified witness if he / she is able to understand the questions put to him / her and the answers he / she provides to the court as well as the implications of those answers. This is also provided for in Section 315 of the CrPC 1973. This clause averts that a person who is convicted of a crime must be a qualified defence witness, who can be questioned under oath in a court of law.
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PURPOSE OF EXAMINING ACCUSED AS WITNESS
The right of the accused to got himself examined subject to fulfillment of the conditions prescribed in Section 315 of the CrPC is a legal right. This provision gives that a blamed individual can be a lawful and proficient witness for the defence and like some other observer he is qualified for giving proof on vow in disproof of the body of evidence brought against him by the arraignment. [i] Where the accused knowingly presents himself to be examined as a witness, the court is entitled to look at him and the information so obtained may be used against those people who have charged and/or prosecuted with him, i.e. the accomplices.
In either case, the clause forbids or discourages the Court from taking either undue derivation from the manual examination of the claimant as a witness to the defence. In different cases, the superior courts have decreed that if, along with others, a condemned person wilfully stands in the dock or the witness box as a qualified witness, he could be held against his co-accused in the table for questioning by the prosecution attorney and the facts brought out of such investigation. On the unlikely chance of such an investigator including his co-accused, who are being charged along with him, they reserve the right of interrogating him on the unlikely chance they so desire.
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In Gajendra Singh V. State of Rajasthan [ii]the accused in the wake of getting his averment recorded under Section 113, got himself examined by the Magistrate and subsequently during the trial as a Defence witness under Section 315 of the code.
The trial court, which was later overturned by the supreme court, turned down his appeal to establish those records identified by the court and placed on record. The Supreme Court observed that, in compliance with Section 115, the complainant is not only entitled to be investigated as a witness, but is entitled to submit any record that it deems necessary to substantiate its argument that regards any other witness.
The scope and object of examination of the accused under section 313, Cr.P.C. is: -
1. to establish a direct dialogue between the court and the accused
2. to test the veracity of the prosecution case. [iii]
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PROCEDURE TO EXAMINE THE ACCUSED AS WITNESS
As per section 313 of Cr.P.C., accused is examined any stage of proceedings and shall after completion of evidence of prosecution.[iv]
The procedure can be described as embarked in the following simplicity Pointers:
· The individual is to be charged
· The accused shall be charged before a Criminal Court
· The accused shall be a qualified witness
· The accused should only testify in defence
· The accused shall grant written consent for examination
· The accused would not need to take Oath
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CONCLUSION
The law mandates that each incriminating proof should be presented individually to the convicted. Section 313 CrPC is founded upon the core concept of justice. In order to allow him a chance to provide an excuse if he wishes to do so, the perpetrator must be explicitly taken to the inculpatory pieces of evidence.
Consequently, the court has a constitutional duty to place the incriminating facts before the accused and to order his response. This clause is obligatory in essence and imposes an imperative obligation on the court which grants the accused the appropriate right to provide an opportunity to provide an excuse for any incriminating evidence as arises against him.
Trial judge should be aware that questions of an inquisitorial sort should be posed to the accused, merely because claims made by the accused under this clause are not the sole ground of prosecution, the presiding officer cannot be regarded as formality as it brings a great deal of impotence in the determination of evidence.
Moreover, when the accused is examined in the court as a witness on oath, if he makes false assertions, this will subject him to penalty or prosecution for perjury and if he is not examined on oath, it affects the reliability of the averments made by him.[v]
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Furthermore, the legislation does not authorise the court to conclude anything negative nor does it authorise the prosecution to comment on the fact that the defendant had not questioned the accused as a witness. The rule is thus only rarely used in practise, but is of great use when used.
[i] https://www.legalbites.in/procedure-to-examine-the-accused-as-witness/#_ftnref1
[ii] Gajendra Singh v. the State of Rajasthan, 1995 CriLJ 3347
[iii] http://ijtr.nic.in/SCOPE%20and%20Significance%20313%20Cr.P.C..pdf
[iv] https://districts.ecourts.gov.in/sites/default/files/workshopscjrajam.pdf
[v] https://www.legalbites.in/procedure-to-examine-the-accused-as-witness/#_ftnref1
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About Author
Name: Riya Sancheti
College: D.E.S's shri Navalmal Firodia law college, pune
3rd year BA.LLB
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