Complete examination ofthe private witnesses firstHC to trial courts.

The Allahabad high court has directed the lower courts across the state to make an endeavour to complete the examination of the private witnesses on the same day, as far as possible, to ensure a “fair and proper trial”. A private witness is someone who was a witness to the occurring of the crime like an eyewitness of murder whereas an official witness includes a doctor, who conducted post mortem, or an investigating officer of the case. The bench of Justice Sunita Agarwal and Justice Vikas Kunvar Srivastav further directed the trial court judges in the state to take up the examination of the private witnesses first, before proceeding with the official witnesses.
The bench observed, “This approach is needed to ensure fair and proper trial which is the duty of the trial court and also to curb the menace where the private witnesses turn hostile for obvious reasons because of long adjournments, permitting an act of maneuvering.”