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PUNJAB AND HARYANA HIGH COURT
Hemant Gupta and Fatehdeep Singh, JJ.
State of Punjab —Appellant
versus
Mohinder Singh —Respondent
C.R.M.No.l8934 of 2013 in MRC No.8 of 2007
Decided on 21.8.2013
Counsels for the Parties:
For the Appellant:H.S. Brar, AAG, Punjab, Advocate.
For the U.T. Chandigarh:Aashima Mor, Advocate.
For the Respondent: Shubhra Singh, DAG, Haryana.
IMPORTANT POINT
State Government shall set up Video Conferencing Rooms in Civil Hospitals to facilitate recording of evidence of medical experts through Video Conferencing.
Headnote:Civil Procedure Code, 1908—Section 151—Recording of evidence of Doctors—State Government shall set up Video Conferencing Rooms in Civil Hospitals to facilitate recording of evidence of medical experts through Video Conferencing—Public Prosecutor in criminal cases or Advocate for claimant in accident cases or any other Advocate representing any party who wishes to examine a Medical Expert is required to disclose place of posting of concerned Doctor alongwith his e-mail address and/or contact phone number—Until rooms/studios are established in Civil Hospitals, medical experts may go to such rooms/studios available in District Court, DC office or NIC office—In-charge Officers of such institutions would facilitate recording of evidence of medical experts by permitting them access to VC rooms/studios—State Government shall issue appropriate directions in this regard. (Para 4)
Result: Matter disposed of with directions.
Hemant Gupta, J.— A Division Bench of this Court, while deciding Murder Reference No.8 of 2007 titled State of Punjab v. Mohinder Singh, noticing spelling mistakes in the medical evidence given by the Doctors, gave the following directions:
“In view of the aforesaid, in order to ensure that medical evidence is placed on Court records in correct and clear terms and also that Presiding Officers of Courts do not take it lightly, we direct the Registrar (Judicial) to issue instructions to Secretaries (Health) and Director General/Directors (Health Services), and Presiding Officers of Courts in Punjab, Haryana and U.T. Chandigarh, that at the time of recording of evidence of Doctors, who are produced as expert witnesses, Courts shall ask them (Medical Doctors etc.) to submit medical reports on affidavit in clear terms with correct spelling.”
2. In pursuance of above directions, the Registrar (Rules) has issued a communication dated 28.8.2008 to the effect that requisite affidavits are required to be prepared by the Doctors, who appear as expert witnesses, as the original records always remain with them, which they can use/refer to, while preparing their affidavits.
3. In a meeting of the Monitoring Committee of this Court with the Officers of Punjab and Chandigarh on 16.4.2012 and with the Officers of Haryana on17.4.2012 consisting of the Chief Secretary and the Home Secretary of the respective States, it was decided that medical evidence shall be recorded through ‘Video Conferencing’. At that stage, it was pointed out that the Doctors faced difficulties in tendering their evidence on affidavits.
4. Thereafter, vide note dated 24.04.2012, it was suggested by one of us (Hemant Gupta, J.) that the directions issued by the Division Bench earlier on 30.5.2008 are required to be reconsidered by a Bench on judicial side. It is, in pursuance of such note, the matter has been placed before this Bench.
5. In response to the notice issued to the States of Punjab, the Deputy Secretary, Government of Punjab, Department of Home Affairs & Justice, has referred to the meeting held on 16.4.2012, wherein the Principal Secretary, Health & Family Welfare was requested to issue necessary instructions to all the Medical Officers to record their evidence through Video Conferencing. In pursuance thereof, the Department of Health & Family Welfare has issued a circular on 2.7.2013 directing the Medical Officers, who appear as witness, to record their evidence through Video Conferencing and that concerned Doctor should reach the NIC Centres situated at District Headquarters or prisons premises to record their evidence through video conferencing.
6. It has also come on record that in the State of Punjab 32 Court sites in Phase-I and 23 Court sites in Phase-II have been provided with Video Conferencing facility. The Courts in Gurdaspur, Batala & Pathankot, have not provided with Video Conferencing facility so far, in the State of Punjab.
7. On the other hand, in an affidavit filed by the Additional Secretary to Government of Haryana, Administration of Justice Department, reference is made to the circular issued by the Director General Health Services, Haryana on 13.7.2012 for recording of the evidence of the Medical Experts through Video Conferencing.
8. At the time of hearing, Ms. Shubhra Singh has produced on record communication dated 12.8.2013 pointing out that the testimonies of Judicial Magistrates, Doctors and Experts have been recorded through Video Conferencing and that no difficulty has been reported by any Public Prosecutor while recording the statements of the witnesses through Video Conferencing.
9. Similarly, Ms. Aashima Mor, learned counsel representing the Chandigarh Administration, referred to the meeting of the Doctors of Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences & Research, Chandigarh; Government Medical College & Hospital, Sector 32, Chandigarh and Government Multi Specialty Hospital, Sector 16, Chandigarh held on 29.7.2013, w
