Court: Witnesses turning hostile becoming endemic
Questioning the prosecution of all the witnesses who turned hostile during the Jessica Lall murder trial, a division bench comprising Justices S. Ravindra Bhat and G.P. Mittal of the Delhi high court on Tuesday said that the incident of “turning hostile” has become “endemic” and all such persons cannot be painted with the same brush.
Seeking the assistance of the public prosecutor on the issue, the division bench said, “How will the case of the prosecution move? The incidents of witnesses turning hostile and doctored evidence have become endemic now. Somebody fears for his life, someone gets tempted and someone does not support (the prosecution) for obvious reasons. Should we go ahead and prosecute all of them?”
The court said, “We will have to take a call as to what is the purpose of having a trial,” adding that such kind of prosecution may deter persons from coming forward and record their statements to the police.
The court made these remarks after hearing a bunch of petitions against witnesses who did not support the police version which led to the acquittal of Manu Sharma and eight others.
The jail term for perjury, which is defined as giving false evidence or information under oath, can vary from one year to seven years and a fine or both.
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