Recall of witness under Section 311 CrPC must serve a just decision; illegal interlocutory orders may be corrected under inherent powers.

Recall or re-examination of a witness under Section 311 CrPC is permissible only when the evidence is essential to a just decision, and cannot be used simply to clarify a discrepancy after the case has been fixed for judgment. The Madhya Pradesh HC held that allowing recall of the doctor in these circumstances was contrary to law and therefore illegal. It further held that even if the order was interlocutory, the High Court could still interfere under its inherent jurisdiction under Section 482 CrPC to correct the illegality in the interest of justice. The order was set aside and the impugned orders were quashed.

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Issues: Whether an order allowing recall and re-examination of a witness under Section 311 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, after the case had been fixed for judgment, was legally sustainable, and whether such an illegal interlocutory order could be interfered with in proceedings under Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973.

Analysis: Section 311 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 permits recall or re-examination of a witness at any stage only when the evidence is essential to the just decision of the case. The case had already been posted for judgment, and the impugned order was passed only to obtain clarification on a discrepancy between the oral evidence and the medical record. The Court held that the trial court's order was contrary to law and illegal. It further held that even if the order was treated as interlocutory, a superior court could correct such illegality in the interest of justice by exercising inherent powers under Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973.

Conclusion: The order permitting recall of the doctor was held unsustainable and liable to be set aside; the petition was allowed and the impugned orders were quashed.

Ratio Decidendi: An illegal interlocutory order passed in the course of a criminal proceeding can be interfered with under the inherent jurisdiction of the High Court, and recall of a witness under Section 311 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 must be justified by its necessity for a just decision.

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