FM
Legal procedure
10 marks
1) Define inquest? What are the various types of inquest? What is the procedure for
police inquest? What is magistrate inquest and when it is conducted
Q2) what are various criminal courts of india? What are the power of various court
Long essay
Q1) what is subpoena? Describe the procedure of recording of evidence in court of law
?
Ans. SUAIMONS/SUBPOENA (Sections 61 to 69 CrPC deals with summons)
It is a document compelling a witness to attend the court of law on a particular day, time
and place to give evidence under penalty (sub- under, poena penalty).
Magistrate sends a summon which is signed and stamped to the witness through police or
government servant.
Two xerox copies are issued. The witness signs on them and keeps one copy with him/her
and the other copy is returned.
If a witness fails to attend the civil cases, he/she is liable to pay the damages.
If a witness fails to attend the criminal cases, he/she gets an arrest warrant.
A witness is excused from attending the court, if he/she has a valid reason.
If a witness is summoned by two courts on the same day, criminal court has priority over
the civil court and the higher court over the lower court. He/she should inform the other
court about the same.
Procedure :-
PROCEDURE OF TRIALS IN COURT, RECORDING OF EVIDENCE
Legal Procedures
Witness is called to the court through summons
Administration of oath/affirmation
Chief examination (done by lawyer of same party)
Cross examination (done by lawyer of opposite party)
Re-examination (done by lawyer of same party)
OATH
Evidence of a witness is recorded under oath in the ‘witness box”.
The oath is as follows ‘I do swear in the name of God, that, what I shall state to the court
shall be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth’.
If the witness is an atheist (non-believer in God), he/she solemnly affirms the above
sentence.
Child below 12 years of age is not required to take oath.
After administration of oath, if a witness does not speak the truth, he/she is liable to be
prosecuted for Perjury
EXAMINATION-IN-CHIEF
This is the first examination of the witness.
It consists of questions by the lawyer of the same party who has called him/her.
The main objective is to elicit all the relevant facts and conclusions.
Leading questions are not allowed.
CROSS-EXAMINATION
Witness is questioned by the lawyer of the opposite side.
The main objectives are:
To discredit the witness and weaken the evidence.
To test the accuracy of the statements made by the witness.
To develop new facts. To remove undue emphasis given to any fact.
Leading questions are allowed. A leading question is the one which includes the answer in
itself
E.g.: Was the injury caused by the firearm? Was the injury ante mortem?
Doctor, you are the one who examined the victim? The answer should be ‘yes’ or ‘no’.
RE-EXAMINATION
Again, witness is questioned by the lawyer of the same party who has called him/her.
The objective is to correct any mistakes or to clarify or to add details to the statements the
witness has made during cross-examination.
Leading questions are not allowed.
New statement/matter cannot be introduced. But it can be done by the consent of judge
and lawyer of the opposite party
Q2). Explain the procedure of recording dying declaration explain the difference between
dying declaration and dying deposition?
Ans. DYING DECLARATION
It is a statement made by a person who is dying as a result of unlawful act.
The statement could be oral or written.
The statement should be related to the circumstances which lead to this condition.
Oath is not administered as it is believed that a dying person speaks only truth.
It is produced in the court as evidence.
It is valid in case the declarant does not die. But now, it will be only a corroborative
evidence.
Any documentary evidence should be authenticated by oral evidence in the court. But a
dying declaration is an exception.
Procedure
1 First, the doctor certifies ‘compos mentis’ (normal mental status) of the dying person but
this is not mandatory.
2 Dying person narrates circumstances/causes, leading to his/her death.
3 Police/magistrate/village head/doctor, along with two witnesses records the statement
and signs the document.
Principles
The statement should be recorded verbatim in the victim’s own language.
No leading questions are asked.
No suggestions are given.
No influence should be imposed.
If the victim is unable to speak but makes only gestures, no interpretation of gestures is
allowed.
If the victim becomes unconscious or dies while recording the statement, only that much
information is recorded. Once recording of statement is complete, it should be signed by
the writer and two witnesses. The investigating police officer should not be present at the
time of recording the statement.
SHORT ESSAY
1. Indication for holding magistrate inquest ?
Ans. Magistrate inquest
It is an inquest conducted by a district magistrate or sub-divisional magistrate or
magistrate of the first-class rank or executive magistrates such as collector, deputy
collector or Tahsildar.
Section 176 CrPC deals with magistrate’s inquest.
It is practised throughout India. It is not held routinely, but only on special circumstances
mentioned below.
Magistrate inquest is done instead of or in addition to the police inquest.
In all cases where the police normally conducts inquests, magistrate can hold an
additional inquest, or in place of the police inquest.
Magistrate’s inquest is held in the following cases:
Lock-up deaths
Deaths in police custody
Deaths during police interrogation
Deaths in prison
Deaths due to police firing
Death in a psychiatric hospital
Dowry death (suicide/death of a woman within 7 years of marriage)
Rape committed on any woman in the custody of the police
Exhumation cases.
When such type of inquiry is to be held, the magistrate should inform the relatives, i.e..
parents, children brothers, sisters and spouse of the deceased and allow them to remain
present at the inquiry
Purpose
The main intention behind the magistrate inquest is to ensure that:
No person is unjustly deprived of his/her liberty and his/her rights as citizen of the nation.
No person, who is deprived of his/her liberty, can die as a result of neglect or brutality of the
people who are in charge of him/her.
In case of a buried body, there is no doubt with regard to the identity, cause of death or
manner of death.
The death is not a dowry death.
2. Magistrate inquest ?
Ans . Refer short essay 1st question
3. What is Summons? What Should a doctor do if he receives summons of
different courts on same day?
Ans. SUAIMONS/SUBPOENA (Sections 61 to 69 CrPC deals with summons)
It is a document compelling a witness to attend the court of law on a particular day, time
and place to give evidence under penalty (sub- under, poena penalty).
Magistrate sends a summon which is signed and stamped to the witness through police or
government servant.
Two xerox copies are issued. The witness signs on them and keeps one copy with him/her
and the other copy is returned.
If a witness fails to attend the civil cases, he/she is liable to pay the damages.
If a witness fails to attend the criminal cases, he/she gets an arrest warrant.
A witness is excused from attending the court, if he/she has a valid reason.
If a witness is summoned by two courts on the same day, criminal court has priority over
the civil court and the higher court over the lower court. He/she should inform the other
court about the same.
Q4. Write in detail about various types of witness in a court of law? Add a note on
hostile witness?
Ans. WITNESS
Witness is a person who gives evidence in the court, related to the facts of a case.
Types: a) Common Witness b) Expert witness.
Common witness: Gives evidence about the facts observed (seen/ heard) by him/her.
Expert witness
Has scientific knowledge and is expert in certain fields like (fingerprint, DNA finger print,
ballistics, forensic pathologist, doctor, handwriting expert, etc.)
He/she is capable of drawing opinion from the facts observed.
Opinion should be given carefully such as the findings are consistent with a stab wound or
fall from Height, etc.
HOSTILE WITNESS (unfavourable witness)
Hostile witness is the one who gives evidence against the party who has called him/her.
Usually they are honest in the beginning but later they turn hostile.
Explanation:
Mr. ‘A’ called Mr. ‘B’ to give evidence in favour of Mr ‘A’.
But Mr. ‘B’ gives evidence against Mr. ‘A’, that is Mr. ‘B’ has turned hostile.
Now, Mr. ‘B’ can be cross-examined by the lawyer of Mr. ‘A’.
This happens if Mr ‘B’ has been threatened or bribed.
Example:
A mob attacked a family and burnt alive about 14 people.
In the court, Ms. ‘A’ (main witness) stated that she saw the mob burning her family
members. But later, she turned hostile by saying that she has not seen the mob burning the
people. Thus the case was weakened. Why did she turn hostile?
She turned hostile because the rioters tried to bribe her and also threatened to kill her.
She is liable to imprisonment and fine for giving false evidence.
Q5). Enumerate the various types of documentary evidence ? Add a note on dying
declaration?
Ans. Documentary
Medical certificates (age certificate, sickness certificate, fitness certificate, death
certificate
Medico-legal reports (of assault, rape, autopsy, etc.)
Dying declaration and dying deposition
DYING DECLARATION
It is a statement made by a person who is dying as a result of unlawful act.
The statement could be oral or written.
The statement should be related to the circumstances which lead to this condition.
Oath is not administered as it is believed that a dying person speaks only truth.
It is produced in the court as evidence.
It is valid in case the declarant does not die. But now, it will be only a corroborative
evidence.
Any documentary evidence should be authenticated by oral evidence in the court. But a
dying declaration is an exception.
Procedure
1 First, the doctor certifies ‘compos mentis’ (normal mental status) of the dying person but
this is not mandatory.
2 Dying person narrates circumstances/causes, leading to his/her death.
3 Police/magistrate/village head/doctor, along with two witnesses records the statement
and signs the document.
Principles:- The statement should be recorded verbatim in the victim’s own language.
No leading questions are asked.
No suggestions are given.
No influence should be imposed. If the victim is unable to speak but makes only gestures,
no interpretation of gestures is allowed.
If the victim becomes unconscious or dies while recording the statement, only that much
information is recorded.
Once recording of statement is complete, it should be signed by the writer and two
witnesses.
The investigating police officer should not be present at the time of recording the
statement.
Q6). What is dying declaration what is the procedure of recording it?
Ans. Refer above answers
Q7). Dying declaration?
Ans. Refer above snswers
