SELVI J JAYALALITHA Vs. STATE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Permission to file Special Leave Petitions is granted.

(2.) Leave granted.

(3.) Appellant is the 1st accused in a criminal case now pending before the xiith Additional Sessions Judge-2, Chennai. As the prosecution evidence was closed the trial Judge proceeded to question the accused under Section 313 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. On completion thereof the trial court posted the case for defence evidence on 29.3.2000. As the appellant did not produce any defence evidence nor presented any list of defence witnesses the trial court posted the case again to 11.4.2000. On that day also the appellant did not produce any defence witness nor any list of witnesses to be examined on the defence side. It was hence posted on the next day i. e. 12.4.2000 for the same purpose. As nothing happened on that day also the trial court chose to close the evidence for defence and posted the case for arguments. In the meanwhile appellant filed an application for recalling some of the witnesses already examined for the prosecution, under Section 311 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (hereinafter referred to as 'the Code'). The trial court did not find the necessity for recalling such witnesses for a just decision of the case. The order dismissing the application for recalling prosecution witnesses as well as the order closing the defence evidence had been challenged by the appellant before the High Court of Madras under Section 482 of I he Code, a single Judge of the High Court dismissed that petition by the impugned order