Advocates:
['A R DESHPANDE', '', 'PARIMAL ULHAS KAVISHWAR', 'ZEESHAN Z HAQ', 'APP']

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apl435.21.J.odt

IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY

NAGPUR BENCH, NAGPUR

CRIMINAL APPLICATION (APL) NO.435 OF 2021

Amol s/o Ashok Belsare,

Aged about 30 years,

R/o Jyoti Nagar, Jatharpeth,

Akola.

.......APPLICANT

...V E R S U S...

State of Maharashtra, through

Police Station, Old City, Akola........NON-APPLICANT

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Mr. Z.Z. Haq, Advocate for Applicant.

Mr. N.S. Rao, APP for Non-Applicant/State.

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CORAM:

ROHIT B. DEO, J.

DATE:

1

st

JULY, 2021.

ORAL JUDGMENT:

Heard.

2.

Rule.

3.

With consent, the application is finally heard.

4.

The applicant is arraigned as accused 1 in Sessions

Trial 157/2015 which is on going in the Court of the learned

Sessions Judge, Akola.

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5.

In the midst of the prosecution evidence, PW-6

Mr. Santosh Shirsat tendered in evidence a document purporting

to be photocopy of the Aadhaar Card of the applicant accused.

The applicant objected to the admissibility in evidence of the

photocopy of the Aadhaar Card on the premise that the document

is neither the original nor a certified copy.

6.

Considering that the allegation is that the applicant

accused produced the Aadhaar Card and tendered a photocopy

while checking in hotel Giriraj, with the deceased, from the

perspective of the prosecution as well as the defence, the

document may be a significant material.

7.

The learned Sessions Judge authored an elaborate

order rejecting the objection to the admissibility in evidence of the

Aadhaar Card observing thus:

3]

It is submitted that, the xerox copy of

extract of hotel register is marked Art.E as the

original register not been produced. However, in

respect of Aadhaar Card, the PW-6 deposed that,

on 7.08.2014, from Amol Belsare had visited in

Hotel and sought for accommodation in the room.

Accordingly, the customer Amol Belsare produced

xerox copy of his Aadhaar Card and put his cell

phone and his signature thereof. Thereafter, the

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PW-6 written entry No.593 dated 7.08.2014 and

allotment of Room No.208 to the said customer

Amol Belsare. Thereafter, the witness put his

signature and Rubber Stamp of the Hotel.

Since, the case of the Accused is not that,

Shri Amol Belsare produced original copy of his

Aadhaar Card while booking the room in Hotel

Giriraj Palace and the Investigation Officer

collected xerox copy of the said Aadhaar Card

from Hotel Giriraj Palace. Therefore, objection

raised by Accused Nos. 1 to 8 does not appear to

be bonafide and hence, it is overruled and the

copy of Aadhaar Card is exhibited on the basis of

oral evidence of the PW-6. Accordingly, I proceed

to pass following order:

ORDER

i]

Exhibit-82 objection of exhibition of

document is hereby rejected.

8.

The learned counsel for the applicant Mr. Haq assails

the rejection of the objection to the admissibility in evidence of the

document inter alia on the ground that the objection could not

have been decided at that stage, and what expected was a

tentative marking of the document as exhibit and deciding the

objection at the stage of final hearing. The objection is not that the

Aadhaar Card is per se in admissible. The objection in essence

revolves on the mode of proof. Be that as it may, in the interest of

expeditious trial, the Supreme Court has observed, inter alia in

Bipin Shantilal Panchal v. State of Gujarat 2001 LawSuit(SC) 332,

that unless the objection touches the deficiency of stamp duty, the

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practice ought to be that the court can make a note of such

objection, mark the objected document tentatively an exhibit

subject to the objection and decide the objection at the stage of

the final judgment. It would be apposite to note the observations

of the Supreme Court in Bipin Shantilal Panchal v. State of Gujarat

which read thus:

[14]When so recast, the practice which can be a