Cuttack, Aug. 9: Orissa High Court has ruled that there cannot be any "straight jacket" formula in case of fixing a deadline for a witness to disclose his or her evidence about an occurrence.
The court said the public were generally reluctant to come forward to give evidence due to the fear of danger to their lives.
The court observed this while considering the bail application of a criminal, who was named prime accused in a case of attempt to murder more than three years after the incident. The accused revealed that he had done it at the behest of another person.
The case relates to the bombing at a lawyer, Abhay Bhatt, at Press Chakh in Madhupatna police limits in 2013. A case for alleged attempt to kill Bhatt was registered at Madhupatna police station, but it had languished and gone into oblivion till the arrest of a criminal from Markatnagar in December last year. The police had then claimed that the criminal, Ganesh Sahu, revealed that he had hurled the bomb at Bhatt at the behest of Odisha Stevedors Limited managing director Mahima Nanda Mishra.
Justice S.K. Sahoo said the trial court, before accepting or rejecting the statements of witnesses on ground of delayed disclosure of the occurrence, should take note of apprehension of danger to the lives of the witnesses and their family members in case they gave statements before police. Lack of assurance from the police in providing them safety, the accused's money power, influence or criminal background are also important aspects, which the trial court should also take note of.
"If the explanation offered for delayed examination of a particular witness is plausible and acceptable and if the explanation offered by the investigating officer on being questioned on the aspect of delayed examination by the accused is found to be credible, the court can rely on such evidence," Justice Sahoo ruled in his August 4 order, a full text of which was available yesterday.
"I am of the humble view that no straight jacket formula can be laid down that after how many hours or days, if a witness discloses about the occurrence, his evidence is to be discarded," Justice Sahoo observed.
"It cannot be lost sight of the fact that the public are generally reluctant to come forward to give their statements to the police or depose before the court even if they are aware about the occurrence," he further observed in the order while rejecting the bail plea of the prime accused.
The state CID-crime branch arrested Mishra from Thailand on December 25 last year in connection with the murder of Seaways Shipping and Logistics Private Limited's general manager Mahendra Swain in Paradip.
While Mishra was lodged at a Jagatsinghpur jail after the local court rejected his bail plea in the murder case, the police implicated him in the bombing and attempt to murder case. He has since been lodged at Choudwar jail. After the lower court, the high court also rejected Mishra's bail plea in the case on June 20. On May 3, the police filed charge sheet in the case naming Mishra as the conspirator, along with the prime accused Ganesh Sahu.
