Right To Summon Document Has To Be Exercised When Trial Is In Progress And Not When Trial Is Completed: Supreme Court

The right to summon document(s) has to be exercised when the trial is in progress and not when the trial is completed, the Supreme Court observed.

The court observed thus while allowing an appeal filed against a judgment of the Telengana High Court. The High Court allowed the revisional application and reversed the decision of the Trial Court in rejecting the application for summoning of the document(s).

Assailing the High Court order, it was contended that the trial had already completed long back and the accused was examined under Section 313 Criminal Procedure Code and the application for summoning the document(s) was moved only thereafter.

Section 91 of the Code of Criminal Procedure empowers a court to issue summons to the person in whose possession or power a document or thing is believed to be, requiring him to attend and produce it, if it finds that such document or thing is necessary or desirable for the purposes of trial.

Perusing the Trial Court order, the bench comprising Justices AM Khanwilkar and Sanjiv Khanna noted that it had given sound and tangible reasons for rejecting the application for summoning of the document(s) - moved at such a belated stage and without any justification for such relief.

The right to summon document(s), indeed, is available but that has to be exercised when the trial is in progress and not when the trial is completed, including after the statement of accused under Section 313 of Criminal Procedure Code had been recorded. The efficacy of the trial cannot be whittled down by such belated application.", the court said.

Observing thus, the bench restored the Trial Court order by setting aside the High Court judgment.

Case: Md. Ghouseuddin vs. Syed Riazul Hussain [SLP(Crl) 3191/2019]
Coram: Justices AM Khanwilkar and Sanjiv Khanna
Counsel: AOR Annam D. N. Rao,  Adv Annam Venkatesh, for petitioner, AOR Mukti Chowdhary for respondent
Citation: LL 2021 SC 298

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