CHANDAN KUMAR CHOWDHURY Vs. STATE OF WEST BENGAL

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This is an application challenging an order dtd. 17/3/2022, passed by the learned Additional Sessions Judge, Fast Track Court - II, Howrah and all subsequent orders relating thereto in S.T. Case No. 38 of 2021 under Ss. 302, 326 120B and 34 of the Indian Penal Code and Ss. 26 and 27 of the Arms Act whereby an application under Sec. 207 of the Code was effectively disposed of.

(2.) It appears from the certified copy of the order dtd. 23/3/2022, filed subsequently, that the prayer for supply of CCTV footage was finally turned down on that day.

(3.) Learned senior counsel appearing on behalf of the petitioner submitted as follows. The petitioner was an accused in this case. The charge sheet was submitted by the investigating agency indicating that the prosecution would rely on a CCTV footage marked as Item No. 4 of Annexure 'A' appended in the charge sheet. However, at the stage of supply of copies, no copy of the said CCTV footage was supplied to the accused. When the matter was taken up before the learned Magistrate, it was submitted on behalf of the prosecution that since the prosecution was not relying on the said CCTV footage anymore, there was no requirement to supply the same. This was an absolutely misconceived notion. Whether one relied on a copy of such document finally during trial or not, since the same was relied upon in the charge sheet, copies of the same had to be given to the accused. Reliance was placed on a decision in the case of Sidhartha Vashisht @ Manu Sharma Vs. State (NCT of Delhi) reported in (2010) 6 SCC1 and In Re : Criminal Trial Guidelines relying inadequacy and divorce reported in (2021) 10 SCC 598. In Sidhartha Vshisht @ Manu Sharma(supra) case, the Hon'ble Apex Court gave a wider interpretation to the words contained in Sec. 207 of the Code. In Re: Criminal Trials Guidelines (supra), it was categorically held that documents seized during investigation and relied upon by the Investigating Officer in accordance with Ss. 207 and 208 had to be supplied to the accused along with the statements of witnesses. Therefore, it was inconsequential whether the learned Public Prosecutor at this stage would rely on such document mentioned in the charge sheet or not.