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Showing posts from June, 2023

Whether the court can call a witness in a criminal case on an application filed by a third party U/S 311 of the CrPC?

 Whether the court can call a witness in a criminal case on an application filed by a third party U/S 311 of the CrPC? IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB AND HARYANA AT CHANDIGARH CRM-M-52970-2022 (O&M) Bennett Coleman and Company Limited Vs State of Haryana and others CORAM: HON’BLE MR. JUSTICE JASGURPREET SINGH PURI Date of Decision: 29.03.2023 In the facts and circumstances of the present case, the petitioner-Company is neither the complainant nor is a victim but is a telecasting company who had conducted a sting operation and the video was telecasted which bearing has got direct bearing upon the subject matter of the present FIR. This Court is of the view that the subject matter of the telecast goes to the root of the matter. The scope of Section 311 Cr.P.C is very wide as has been so held in a plethora of judgments as discussed above. The journalist namely Abhishek who has been summoned as a prosecution witness is not an authorized person, according to the petitioner-Company, whereas