Courts can only rely on witnesses that the prosecution or defence chooses to call.

The court has independent power, and a duty, to summon any person as a witness or recall someone already examined if their evidence is essential to reaching a just decision.

Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023

Section 348

Power to summon material witness, or examine person present

Any Court may, at any stage of any inquiry, trial or other proceeding under this Sanhita, summon any person as a witness, or examine any person in attendance, though not summoned as a witness, or re-call and re-examine any person already examined; and the Court shall summon and examine or re-call and re-examine any such person if his evidence appears to it to be essential to the just decision of the case.§

Why this exists

This provision exists to make sure that courts are not limited only to the evidence the prosecution or defence choose to present. If the truth requires hearing from someone else, or asking a witness more questions, the court has an independent power and, in fact, a duty to secure that evidence so that justice is not sacrificed to the parties' litigation strategies.

How courts read it

This is one of the most significant and frequently invoked provisions from the earlier Code of Criminal Procedure, understood by courts as giving trial judges wide power, and even an obligation, to summon or recall witnesses whose evidence is essential to a just decision; it has been described in landmark rulings as a tool for courts to discover the truth, used in high-profile cases where crucial witnesses were recalled after earlier proceedings were found unsatisfactory.

Common misconceptions

Myth: Courts can only rely on witnesses that the prosecution or defence chooses to call.
Fact: The court has independent power, and a duty, to summon any person as a witness or recall someone already examined if their evidence is essential to reaching a just decision.