Suresh Sahu vs State of Bihar (now Jharkhand) 2025 INSC 1382.S.313 CrPC - Non-Examination Of Material Witness

Code of Criminal Procedure 1973 - Section 313 ; Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita 2023 - Section 351 - The purpose of recording the statement of an accused under Section 313 CrPC (Section 351 BNSS) is to make the accused aware of the circumstances as appearing against him in the prosecution case and to seek his explanation for the same. For this purpose, the accused must be informed of each and every incriminating circumstance which the prosecution intends to rely upon for bringing home the guilt of the accused. Omission to put material circumstances to the accused in the statement under Section 313 CrPC (Section 351 BNSS) would cause grave prejudice and may, in a given case, even prove fatal to the case of the prosecution. Of course, the appellate Court can rectify this error by requiring that a fresh statement under Section 313 CrPC (Section 351 BNSS) be recorded for removing the lacunae, if any, in this procedure. [Context: in this case, Supreme Court noted that these statements are almost a reproduction of the language of the charge and, in no manner, convey to the accused persons the incriminating circumstances/evidence produced by the prosecution so as to indict them for the crime. Held: This defect goes to the root of the matter.]

Criminal Trial - Evidence- Non-examination of a material witness would give rise to adverse inference and the benefit thereof would normally go to the defence unless of course a satisfactory explanation for the omission was offered. (Para 25) The testimony of a defence witness carries the same evidentiary value as that of a prosecution witness- The evidence of a witness cannot be discarded merely on the ground that the witnesses were examined by the defence. (Para 48-49)