SupremeToday Landscape Ad
Back
Next
Judicial Analysis Court Copy Headnote Facts Arguments Court observation
Listen Article Pause Article
judgment-img

2006 Supreme(Guj) 717

Gujarat High Court
Judgename :RAVI R.TRIPATHI
SAJIDBEG ASIFBEG MIRZA - Appellant
Versus
STATE OF GUJARAT - Respondent
CRIMINAL REVISION APPLICATION 694 Of 2006
Decided On : 11/17/2006

Advocates Appeared: H.J.JANI, SHAKEEL A.QURESHI

Headnote:

Evidence Act - Section 11 – Committed Crime - Court being aggrieved by order passed below Sessions Case by learned Sessions Judge is an application given by the learned Public Prosecutor – It is prayed by said application that the summons be issued on the person for a channel who interviewed the present petitioner – Learned advocate for the petitioner submitted that incident is that of year 2000 and the application is filed. submitted that the application is filed at a much belated stage when the Investigation Officer deposition was in progress – submitted that learned Sessions Judge has failed to appreciate the proposition of law laid down by Apex Court in the case of reported in Supreme Court Cases learned advocate for petitioner read paragraph No. 176 of judgment and submitted that the learned Judge has failed to appreciate the true and correct proposition of law laid down by Apex Court in the said paragraph. For ready perusal – Held, Learned Additional Public Prosecutor submitted that neither before the learned Sessions Judge nor before this Court it is argued or pointed out by the learned advocate for the petitioner that as to how the production of the evidence in question, in the form of video cassette of the interview or the examination of the videographer, who recorded that interview, is going to prejudice. He submitted that in absence of any convincing material to show the production of this evidence is going to cause prejudice to the petitioner, this revision application cannot be entertained learned Sessions Judge is right in observing that the contents of that interview might support revision application deserves to be dismissed – Application is dismissed.

( 1 ) ORIGINAL accused " petitioner herein is before this Court being aggrieved by order passed below Exh. 86 in Sessions Case No. 212 of 2000 by the learned Sessions Judge, Surat dated 27. 09. 2006. Exh. 86 is an application given by the learned Public Prosecutor on 06. 03. 2006. It is prayed by the said application that the summons be issued on the person " Videographer for a channel who interviewed the present petitioner " accused in the hospital while he was taking treatment for the alleged injuries caused to him by the police.

( 2 ) THE learned Sessions Judge has discussed this aspect in detail in paragraph Nos. 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10 of his order.

( 3 ) MR. SHAKEEL A. Qureshi, learned advocate for the petitioner submitted that the incident is that of the year 2000 and the application is filed in the year 2006. He submitted that the application is filed at a much belated stage when the Investigation Officer s deposition was in progress. He submitted that the learned Sessions Judge has failed to appreciate the proposition of law laid down by the Hon ble the Apex Court in the case of STATE (NCT OF DELHI) VS. NAVJOT SANDHU ALIAS AFSAN GURU, reported in 2005 Supreme Court Cases (Cri) 1715. The learned advocate for the petitioner read paragraph No. 176 of the judgment and submitted that the learned Judge has failed to appreciate the true and correct proposition of law laid down by the Hon ble the Apex Court in the said paragraph. For ready perusal, paragraph No. 176 is reproduced hereinbelow:

"we may also refer to the contention advanced by Shri Ram Jethmalani, learned Senior Counsel appearing for S. A. R. Gilani with reference to the confession of Afzal. Shri Jethmalani contended that Afzal in the course of his interview with the TV and other media representatives, a day prior to the recording of a confession before the DCP, while confessing to the crime, absolved Gilani of his complicity in the conspiracy. A cassette (Ext. DW-4/a) was produced as the evidence of his talk. DW-4, a reporter of Aaj Tak TV channel was examined. It shows that Afzal was pressurrised to implicate Gilani in the confessional statement, according to the learned counsel. It is further contended by Shri Jethmalani that the statement of Afzal in the course of media interview is relevant and admissible under Section 11 of the Evidence Act. Learned counsel for Afzal, Shri Sushil Kumar did not sail with Shri Jethmalani on this point, realising the implications of admission of the statements of Afzal before the TV and press on his culpability. However, at one stage he did argue that the implication of Gilani in the confessional statement conflicts with the statement made by him to the media and therefore the confession is not true. We are of the view that the talk which Afzal had with the TV and press reporters admittedly in the immediate presence of the police and while he was in police custody, should not be relied upon irrespective of the fact whether the statement was made to a police officer within the meaning of Section 162 Crpc or not. We are not prepared to attach any weight or credibility to the statements made in the course of such interview prearranged by the police. The police officials in their over-zealousness arranged for a media interview which has evoked serious comments from the counsel about the manner in which publicity was sought to be given thereby. Incidentally, we may mention that PW 60 the DCP, who was supervising the investigation, surprisingly expressed his ignorance about the media interview. We thing that the wrong step taken by the police should not ensure to the benefit or detriment of either the prosecution or the accused. "

The learned Sessions Judge in paragraph 8 of his order has observed that:

"looking to the above mentioned ruling, it appears that, no principle has been laid down by Hon ble Supreme Court, but, it appears that, Hon ble Supreme Court has observed that, if a statement is made in the course of an interview prearran












Click Here to Read the rest of this document
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
SupremeToday Portrait Ad
supreme today icon
whatsapp-icon Back to top