SANJIV RAJENDRA BHATT Vs. STATE OF GUJARAT

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petition, under Sec. 401 read with 397 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (hereinafter referred to as " Cr.P.C ."), is filed challenging the order dtd. 25/1/2023 passed below Exh.508 and Exh.529 i.e. the deposition of witness no.16 in Special NDPS Case no.3 of 2018 by the learned Special Judge, Banaskantha urging that the Hon'ble Judge has forbidden the petitioner to ask certain relevant questions during the cross- examination of the said witness and therefore, prayer is made to direct the learned Trial Court to recall the witness no.16 so as to enable the petitioner to further cross-examine the said witness in Special NDPS Case no.3 of 2018 pending before the learned Special Judge, Banaskantha.

(2.) Learned Senior Advocate Mr. K.B. Anandjiwala for the petitioner stated that the prayer is made to recall the witness no.16 only for the limited purpose of establishing a contradiction by using the previous statements of the same witness recorded earlier and to allow the petitioner-accused to ask the pending question on page no.120 of the said witness and further subsequent questions which may arise subject to the answers of the depositions of the said witness to the said question.

(3.) Mr. Anandjiwala, referring to the record submits, that the petitioner is accused no.2 in NDPS Case and witness no.16 - Ramanbhai Parsottamdas Patel whose examination-in- chief was recorded before the concerned Court came to be concluded on 3/1/2023 and soon the cross-examination commenced, it continued on 4/1/2023, 10/1/2023, 11/1/2023, 12/1/2023, 17/1/2023, 18/1/2023, 19/1/2023, 21/1/2023 and finally got concluded on 25/1/2023.