SRIDHAR Vs. STATE OF KARNATAKA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) WHAT has been challenged in this petition filed under Section 482 of the Cr. P. C is the ruling of XXI Addl. City Civil and sessions Judge and special Judge for CBI Cases for Bangalore City, holding that a witness, while he is being examined as a witness in a Court, is entitled to look into a mahazar for refreshing his memory.

(2.) IN the trial of the petitioner for offense punishable under sections 143, 147, 148, 149, 323, 307 read with 120-B IPC and sections 3 and 5 of the Explosive Substances Act, P. W. 6-Narayanappa, former Police Inspector, Banasawadi Police Station, Bangalore City, was examined on 29. 11. 2002 to show that he had accompanied the reading party and that he was present at the time of seizure of certain arms from the possession of the accused. After major portion of the examination-in-chief was over, with regard to the particulars of the weapons, vehicles, properties allegedly seized from the possession of each accused, the witness sought for permission to look into the mahazar and P. F. for the purpose of refreshing his memory, and that was objected to by the learned Counsel for the accused on the ground that the said witness was not a signatory to the mahazar and that mahazar having been prepared not under the supervision of that Police Officer and there being a separate statement of that witness recorded under Section 161 of Cr. P. C. , the mahazar could not be looked into by that witness to refresh his memory.

(3.) AFTER hearing the learned Counsel for the prosecution and the learned Counsel for the accused, the Court ruled that in view of latter part of section159 of the Indian Evidence Act, a witness could look into the mahazar for refreshing his memory. After the witness looked into the mahazar, he has given the details of the weapons seized from the possession of some of the accused, which portion of the deposition is the subject matter of challenge in the present petition.