Material witness evidence under Section 311 CrPC may be secured through commission or video-conferencing when essential to justice.

Section 311 CrPC gives the court a wide but controlled power to summon or recall a witness when the evidence is essential to a just decision. That power should not be refused merely because the trial is old or because a photocopy of the post-mortem report is already on record. If the material witness is abroad, Sections 284 and 285 CrPC permit examination through commission, including video-conferencing, so relevant evidence can be recorded without undue delay or inconvenience.

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Issues: Whether the application to summon the doctor who conducted the first post-mortem examination and to record his evidence through commission or video-conferencing ought to be allowed.

Analysis: Section 311 of the Code of Criminal Procedure confers a wide but judicially controlled power to summon or recall a witness whenever his evidence appears essential to the just decision of the case. That power is intended to secure the truth and avoid prejudice, and it cannot be declined merely because the trial is old or because a photocopy of the post-mortem report is already on record. Where the witness is abroad, the court may also take recourse to Sections 284 and 285 of the Code of Criminal Procedure to issue a commission, including by video-conferencing, so that relevant evidence reaches the record without unreasonable delay or inconvenience.

Conclusion: The application under Section 311 of the Code of Criminal Procedure was required to be allowed, and the foreign medical witness could be examined through commission or video-conferencing.

Ratio Decidendi: A material witness whose evidence is essential to a just decision should be summoned under Section 311 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, and the age of the case cannot by itself override the need to place such evidence on record; where the witness is abroad, commission or video-conferencing may be used to secure the evidence.

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