The High Court of Karnataka has come out with the concept of holding a “pre-trial conference” to ensure conduct of day-to-day trial in all criminal cases without unnecessary adjournments. Also, a series of guidelines have been issued to courts for speedy conclusion of trial.
Justice A.V. Chandrashekara, in his landmark verdict, said judges conducting the trial should hold a pre-trial conference involving the public prosecutor, accused and their advocates, and the police officers concerned before fixing dates for various stages of trial.
The court initiated this concept while noticing a huge delay in conclusion of trial by a special court for CBI cases, which took six years to complete trial in a bank fraud case as a result of frequent and unnecessary adjournments.
“…pre-trial conferences must be effectively held to trash out many unexpected situations well in advance…it should not be a mere formality but a useful exercise as a step in aid to hold trial as mandated in Section 309 of the Code of Criminal Procedure…,” Justice Chandrashekara observed.
The High Court also told judges conducting the trial to ensure that prosecution witnesses are available on the specified dates, and to visualise the obstacles that may crop up during the day-to-day proceedings and to take necessary measures before fixing the dates.
Translators for witnesses
The trial courts will also have to access the need for assistance from translators in advance and keep the translator ready before fixing the date for witnesses, who are not conversant with local language or English.
On the other hand, the High Court said that public prosecutors should come out with a thorough preparation for trial and intimate the court about the list of witnesses, dates on which they would be examined, and approximate time required for examining the witnesses.
If judges go on leave for compelling reasons on the dates fixed for trial, all the witnesses must be duly intimated in advance, the court said.
The court also issued direction to the trial court to ensure that the witnesses are paid travel and dearness allowances on the same day. In case of non-availability of fund on that day, the allowances should be sent to the witnesses at the earliest.
