Accused can't be denied access to documents forming part of charge sheet: Supreme Court
The Supreme Court has said that an accused cannot be denied access to documents forming part of the charge sheet as withholding them could seriously
The Supreme Court has said that an accused cannot be denied access to documents forming part of the charge sheet as withholding them could seriously prejudice their right to a fair trial. The observations came from a Bench of Justices J.K. Maheshwari and A.S. Chandurkar, which directed that a typed copy of some "highly confidential" documents be provided to retired Major General V.K. Singh, who is facing prosecution in a case lodged in 2007 under the provisions of the Official Secrets Act, 1923. The Bench noted it was not the CBI's case that documents sought by Mr. Singh, who was also a former RAW official, were not relevant for the purpose of trial, and the only objection taken by the prosecution was that they were "highly confidential for the purpose of national security" and if its copies were supplied, there were chances that those may come out in the public domain. "It is trite law that an accused cannot be denied access to documents forming part of the charge sheet, including those from the general diary, if such documents were obtained in good faith, are relevant to the prosecution's case, and their disclosure is considered necessary by the public prosecutor for the interests of justice and fair trial," the Bench said in its May 18 order.
"It is so because withholding such documents could seriously prejudice the accused's right to a fair trial," it said. The apex court passed the order on Mr. Singh's plea challenging a September order of the Delhi High Court from last year. The High Court had modified a December 2009 order of a trial court, which had directed the prosecution to supply copies of documents sought by Mr. Singh. Singh had filed an application under Section 207 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) before the trial court seeking a direction to the prosecution to supply some documents, which formed part of the charge sheet but were not supplied to him. Section 207 of the CrPC deals with the supply of a copy of the police report and other documents to the accused. Dealing with the plea, the apex court said, "In our view, being part of the charge sheet and being used against, the said documents ought to be supplied to the appellant [Mr. Singh]". The Bench said with a view to balancing the interests of the right to fair trial of the accused, which is also an important facet of the fundamental right to life and personal liberty under Article 21 of the Constitution, with that of national security and sovereignty, it had asked the law officer appearing for the CBI to come up with an equitable proposal.
The BriefWire