Published on: December 29, 2023 at 12:40 IST
Court: High Court of Delhi
Citation: Simrin Singh V. Amrit Srinivasan (2018)
Honourable High Court of Delhi has held that Section 138 of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872 permits Re-Examination “to explain the matters referred to in cross-examination” and permits further cross-examination of the witness, only if the Court has in re-examination permitted new matters to be introduced. It is held that “explain matters referred to in cross-examination” cannot be interpreted so widely as to permit in routine, re-examination of witness and in the name of re-examination, undo what has been achieved/revealed in cross-examination. It is held that re-examination can only be with permission of Court unless there is no objection to re-examination of the witness.
11. The words ‘explanation of matters referred to in cross-examination’ in Section 138 supra, in my view, have to be interpreted as re-examination confined to explanation of the sense and meaning of the expressions used by the witness in cross-examination, if they be in themselves doubtful and also the motive by which the witness was induced to use those expressions. Reexamination, in my view, cannot go further than that. I reiterate that reexamination cannot be sought and allowed, with the sole object of giving a chance to the witness to undo the effect of statements earlier made in cross-examination. Lacunae in evidence led cannot be filled up under the pretext of re-examination.
Drafted By Abhijit Mishra