Mode of Taking Evidence and General Provisions as to Inquiries and Trials — Section 266 to 352

Watch any courtroom drama and you will see a witness speak while a clerk types, and a judge who occasionally says, 'let it be recorded'. Nobody thinks about why. But a criminal case is decided on the paper record, and an appeal court will never hear the witness, only read what was written down. So who writes it, in what language, in whose presence, and what happens when a witness cannot come at all? This topic answers that, and then covers the general rules every trial must obey: no trying a person twice, a lawyer for the poor, pardons for accomplices, and adjournments that cannot be had for the asking.

In two minutes

Evidence must be taken in the accused's presence and recorded by the judge or under his supervision, and the general provisions of the Sanhita then supply the fair-trial guarantees (no double trial, legal aid, examination of the accused) and trial-management powers (pardon, adjournment, summoning witnesses, withdrawal).

The rest of this chapter

The full explanation, the cheat sheet, every previous-year question at every mark weight, the quiz and the answer skeletons are part of Criminal Procedure Code 1973, Juvenile Justice Act 2015 and POCSO Act 2012 on LexBlox Semester. Sign in to unlock the subject, or read Module 1 of Legal Language and Writing free.