Order dated 2nd September 2024
Cause title : NEHA BEGUM & ORS. vs THE STATE OF ASSAM & ANR
Case No: Special Leave Petition (Crl.) No. 3910 of 2024
A Bench of Supreme Court Judges Hon'ble Mr. Justice Pamidighantham Sri Narasimha and Hon'ble Mr. Justice Sandeep Mehta dismissed the appeal filed by the Petitioner against rejection application under Section 231(2) read with Section 311 CrPC by the Trial Court. The counsel for the petitioners contended that the trial Court as well as the High Court proceeded on a total wrong premise that the petitioners were simply praying for further cross-examination of the witnesses which prayer could not be accepted as further cross-examination obviously follows reexamination and the prosecution had never re-examined the witnesses, thus, the defence could not be allowed to re-cross examine the prosecution witnesses.
This special leave petition filed by the Petitioners challenged the
judgment and order dated 19th January, 2024 passed by the learned
Single Judge of the Gauhati High Court in Criminal Petition No. 561
of 2021 whereby, the petition preferred by the petitioners under
Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 was dismissed
thereby, affirming the order dated 9th March, 2021 passed by the
learned Sessions Judge, Dibrugarh in Petition No. 1869 of 2019 filed
in Sessions Case No. 202 of 2018.
The petitioners are facing trial for the offences punishable under
Section 302 read with Section 34 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860
before the Sessions Judge, Dibrugarh. The trial of the case had
proceeded significantly, whereafter the petitioners filed an
application under Section 231(2) read with Section 311 CrPC being
Petition No. 1869 of 2019 with a prayer to further cross examine the
prosecution witnesses No. 1, 2, 3,
6, 7 and 8. The said application came to be rejected vide order
dated 9th March, 2021.
While dismissing the Special Leave Petition the Hon'ble Supreme Court held that:
"8. On a perusal of the subject application filed by the
petitioners in the trial Court by invoking the provisions under
Section 231(2) read with Section 311 CrPC, we find that other than a
vague aspersion that the erstwhile lawyer engaged by the petitioners
did not conduct proper cross-examination of the witnesses, no such
specific ground was alluded on behalf of the accused petitioners
which could be considered to be a valid ground for the trial Court
to invoke the power under Section 311 CrPC.
9. Apparently thus, the prayer made by the petitioners in the
application to recall and re-examine the witnesses was nothing but
an attempt to fill in the lacuna. There is nothing on record to
suggest that non summoning of the witnesses for further cross
examination could cause grave prejudice the accused and that such a
cause of action was essential for a just decision of the case.
10. The impugned order does not suffer from any infirmity. Hence,
the special leave petition being meritless is dismissed as such."
Download order dated 2nd September 2024 in NEHA BEGUM & ORS. vs THE STATE OF ASSAM & ANR, Special Leave Petition (Crl.) No. 3910 of 2024