Section 91 CrPC allows courts to summon needed material despite police withholding, to protect fair trial and defence rights.

Section 91 CrPC empowers the Court to summon any document or thing needed for inquiry or trial, and that power is not curtailed by the police's limited ability to withhold material under Section 173. The Court must independently assess relevance and necessity, and may reject the police view only where valid grounds such as irrelevance, lack of necessity in the interests of justice, or public interest are shown with reasons. If withheld material may aid the defence, confront a witness, or clarify the truth, non-production can prejudice fair trial rights. On this basis, the documents were treated as necessary and desirable for trial.

---

---

Issues: Whether documents and materials in the custody of the police, though not filed with the charge sheet, could be summoned by the Court under Section 91 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 despite the restrictions in Section 173 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973.

Analysis: Section 91 confers a broad power on the Court to summon production of any document or thing if it is necessary or desirable for the purposes of inquiry, trial or other proceeding. That power is not curtailed by Section 172 or by Section 173(5) and 173(6), because the police power to withhold documents is limited and can be exercised only for the statutory reasons of irrelevance, want of necessity in the interests of justice, or public interest, and even then reasons must be stated. The Court must independently examine whether the material is relevant and necessary for a just decision and cannot mechanically accept the police view. Where the withheld material may assist the defence, confront a witness, or reveal the truth of the controversy, refusal to produce it would undermine fair trial rights and the accused's right to defend himself effectively.

Conclusion: The documents sought were necessary and desirable for the trial, and the application under Section 91 ought to have been allowed.

Final Conclusion: The impugned order was set aside and the accused was entitled to production and copy of the specified documents for effective defence and a fair trial.

Ratio Decidendi: The Court's power under Section 91 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 to summon necessary or desirable material is independent of the police's restricted power to withhold documents under Section 173, and must be exercised to secure a fair and complete adjudication unless valid public-interest grounds are shown.

---