Hostile Witness Essay

CHAPTER 4

CONCEPT OF HOSTILE WITNESS UNDER INDIAN LAWS

The term ‘Hostile witnesses’ has not been defined in any Indian laws be it Indian Evidence Act,1872 or Court of Criminal Proceedure,1973 or Indian Penal Code,1860 any other law. The term ‘hostile witness’ or ’adverse witnesses’ and ‘unfavourable witness’ has been derived from English laws. Hostile witness is one of the ignored concepts in domestic laws. In India, it is entirely in the discretion of the Court to decide on what basis a witness is to be declared as ‘Hostile’. However, there are some provisions under domestic legislations that indirectly deals with the concept of hostile witness.

1. Indian Evidence Act, 1872

The Law of Evidence is nothing but a system of rules and principle which assist the court to ascertain the fact in the judicial proceedings. Generally, the party is prohibited from asking of leading question to its own witness under section 142 of Evidence Act because there is presumption that a witness is always biased towards the party calling him. However, the rule is relaxed because of evolution of concept of hostile witnesses in India and the court may permit the party to cross examine his own witness. Section 154 of Indian Evidence Act, 1872 confers discretionary power on the Court to permit the party who

Laloo Prasad , observed that it is open to the party who called the witness to seek permission from the Court as envisaged in section 154 of the Evidence Act at any stage of the examination and it is a discretion vested with the Court whether to grant permission or not. It was further observed that normally when the public prosecutor requested for the permission to put cross-questions to a witness called by him the Court used to called it. It was further pointed out that if the public prosecutor had sought permission at the end of chief examination itself the Court would have no good reason for declining the permission sought