Section 313 CrPC questioning may proceed without personal appearance in exceptional hardship, if fairness is preserved.

Section 313 CrPC is designed to give the accused a fair opportunity to explain incriminating circumstances, but personal is not an inflexible requirement in every warrant case or other non-summons case. Where genuine hardship, distance, expense, or similar compelling reasons make attendance difficult, the court may adopt an alternative procedure if satisfied about the necessity. In such exceptional cases, it may require a sworn application and affidavit, permit answers through counsel by questionnaire, and insist on proper authentication and an undertaking against later prejudice. The provision remains mandatory in general, but its object may be substantially achieved through a different mode when justified by special exigencies.

---

---

Issues: Whether, in a warrant case or other non-summons cases, the accused must always be physically present for questioning under Section 313 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, or whether in exceptional exigencies the court may permit answers to be given without personal ence through an alternative mode.

Analysis: Section 313 of the Code is primarily intended to afford the accused a real opportunity to explain incriminating circumstances and to promote fairness in criminal trial, but the requirement is not meant to create insurmountable hardship in every case. The mandatory character of the provision operates as a general rule, yet the object of the provision can still be substantially achieved where the accused is genuinely unable to attend because of hardship, distance, expense, or similar compelling reasons. In such exceptional cases, the court may require a sworn application and affidavit from the accused, and may permit a questionnaire to be answered through counsel with proper authentication, provided the accused undertakes not to raise prejudice later and the court is satisfied about the genuineness of the difficulty.

Conclusion: The accused need not invariably be personally present for Section 313 questioning in every non-summons case, and the court may, in special exigencies and on being satisfied of genuine hardship, adopt an alternative procedure consistent with the provision's purpose.

---