Assigning Mark/Exhibit To Document In Criminal Trial Is A Ministerial Function, Immaterial During Recording Evidence: Rajasthan High Court

Rajasthan High Court has ruled that the act of assigning an exhibit or a mark to a document was a ministerial function meant to identify the document presented before the Court, and such assignment is immaterial at the time of recording evidence.

The bench of Justice Arun Monga held that even if a document was assigned an exhibit but later found not to be duly proved in accordance with law or was otherwise inadmissible, its exclusion could be sought at the appropriate stage. Conversely, if a document was initially marked and was later proved according to law and deemed admissible, the concerned party could request the court to consider it at the appropriate time.

The Court was hearing a petition against an order of the trial court in which the trial court rejected an application filed by the petitioner wherein the petitioner had objected to assigning an exhibit to an unregistered agreement.

The Court while concurring with the decision of the trial court held that in criminal law, the admissibility of a document was not hindered if it was unregistered or unverified because in criminal proceedings court's focus was on deciding the charges framed against the accused and not on determining any civil rights between parties.

Furthermore, the Court also ruled that assigning an exhibit or mark to a document was just a ministerial act which was immaterial at the time of recording evidence.

In this background, the Court held that since the trial was underway, the trial court could decide on the admissibility and evidentiary value of the document at the appropriate stage.

Accordingly, the petition was dismissed.

Title: Ramkaran v State of Rajasthan

Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (Raj) 291

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