PRAKASH CHAND MALI Vs. STATE OF RAJASTHAN

JUDGEMENT

(1.) PETITIONER has challenged the impugned order dated 20. 9. 2005 passed by the Special Judge (SC/st) Court, Jaipur City, Jaipur whereby the objections raised by the petitioner requesting that the part of the statement given by the prosecutrix under Section 161 Cr. P. C. by which she is confronted during trial should be reproduced verbatim in her testimony has been rejected. Hence, this petition before us.

(2.) MR. Sahni learned counsel for the petitioner has argued that as a short cut the trial marks the part of the statement by which the prosecution is confronted merely as `a' to `b' and `c' to `d'. But the Trial Court does not record the said statement verbatim in the testimony of the prosecutrix. Such a short cut leads to a host of complications. For example, while passing the decision, in the absence of verbatim reproduction of the statement, the Trial Court may or may not understand the contradiction pointed out by the defence. Moreover, the Trial Court lawyers or the defence lawyers may not mark the relevant portion as `a' to `b' and `c' to `d'. Therefore, when the file is passed on to the learned counsel in the High Court would not even know of the relevant portion which has been marked as `a' to `b', `c' to `d'. At times, because of the ineligible quality of writing, even the Appellate Court does not know the part of statement which was used for confronting the witnesses. Hence, the Appellate Court is not in a position to appreciate the contradiction pointed out by the accused. It, thus, may fail to evaluate the sterling worth of the witnesses. Thus, according to the learned counsel for the petitioner the learned Trial Judge should be directed to write that part of the statement of the prosecutrix used for confronting her from her statement recorded under Section 161 Cr. P. C. completely in her testimony as a part of cross-examination instead of making it merely as `a' to `b' and `c' to `d'.

(3.) REGISTRAR General of this Court is directed to send copy of this judgment to every District and Sessions Judge of the State so that relevant portion of the statements would be recorded by the learned Judicial officers.