KULWANT SINGH Vs. JASWINDER KAUR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The present revision has been filed for setting aside order dtd. 11/11/2021 passed by learned Civil Judge (Junior Division), Batala vide which application under Sec. 151 Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 for examining respondent No.2 Balwinder Singh and respondent No.3 Manjit Singh through video conferencing has been allowed.

(2.) Learned counsel for the petitioner contends that learned Civil Judge (Junior Division), Batala has wrongly allowed the application filed by respondent No.2 and 3 by relying upon medical record of respondent No.2 Balwinder Singh, which is not authenticated. He further contends that despite the fact that both respondent No.2 and 3 were declared proclaimed offenders, learned Civil Judge (Junior Division), Batala allowed the application for examining them through video conferencing. Further that learned Civil Judge (Junior Division), Batala failed to appreciate that to facilitate the respondents No.2 and 3 who are proclaimed offenders to join proceedings through video conferencing would amount to avoid criminal prosecution against them.

(3.) He relied upon the judgment passed by the Karnataka High Court in T.G. Veeraprasad and others Vs. Sri Prakash Gandhi and others, 2022(3) AIR Kar R 604, to support his contentions, wherein, the Court held that opportunity to judge the demeanor of a witness face to face is accorded great value in Indian Judicial system and merely by showing that it is inconvenient for a witness to attend trial can create a risk of denial of effective cross-examination.