Section 294 CrPC allows post-mortem reports to be read in evidence without examining the doctor when genuineness is undisputed.

Section 294 of the Code of Criminal Procedure is applied to post-mortem notes and similar documents where their genuineness is not disputed, because the provision dispenses with formal proof on admission or denial of authenticity. A post-mortem report is not excluded from the section merely because it is a medical record or because it may serve a corroborative rather than primary purpose. Once authenticity is waived, the court may read the document in evidence without examining the doctor or proving the signature, while distinguishing admissibility from probative weight. The principle stated is that undisputed documents may be used at trial without formal proof.

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Issues: Whether Section 294 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 applies to post-mortem notes and permits them to be read in evidence without examining the doctor who prepared them when their genuineness is not disputed.

Analysis: Section 294 is intended to dispense with formal proof of documents where genuineness is not disputed when the party is called upon to admit or deny it. The provision is not confined to any special class of documents, and its operation does not depend on whether a document is primary, secondary, substantive, or corroborative. A post-mortem report is a document like any other, and once genuineness is not disputed, the Court may read it in evidence without proof of the author's signature or without examining the doctor. The expressions used in the section, including the ability to read the document in evidence, are sufficient to permit its use for trial purposes. The distinction between probative value and admissibility was also emphasised: a document may be only corroborative, yet still be admissible if its authenticity stands waived under Section 294.

Conclusion: Section 294(3) covers post-mortem notes, and such notes may be read in evidence without formal proof or the doctor's oral evidence when genuineness is not disputed. The contention to the contrary was rejected.

Final Conclusion: The reference was answered by holding that post-mortem reports are within Section 294 and the matter was sent back to the Division Bench for disposal in accordance with law.

Ratio Decidendi: Where the genuineness of a document is not disputed, Section 294 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 dispenses with formal proof and permits the document, including a post-mortem report, to be used in evidence without examining its author.

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