Power to require attendance of prisoners to give evidence
Full Text
Where it appears to a Court that the evidence of a person confined or detained in a prison within the State is material in a suit, the Court may make an order requiring the officer in charge of the prison to produce that person before the Court to give evidence: Provided that, if the distance from the prison to the Court-house is more than twenty-five kilometers, no such order shall be made unless the Court is satisfied that the examination of such person on commission will not be adequate.
Plain English Summary
Authorizes the civil court to order the Jail Superintendent to produce a prisoner to depose, provided that if the prison is beyond 25 km, production will not be ordered unless examination on commission is deemed inadequate.
Key Legal Elements
- Materiality Requirement: The party must establish that the prisoner's evidence is indispensable.
- Territorial Constraint: Applicable to prisons situated within the State.
- 25-Kilometre Threshold: Statutory barrier against unnecessary transport of incarcerated individuals.
- Commission Adequacy Test: Mandatory judicial finding that commission/video examination is inadequate before ordering physical production.
Practical Note
Production Warrant for Prisoners in Civil Litigation: 1. Overcoming the 25-Km Proviso: If the jail is over 25 km away, counsel must draft specific averments in the application explaining why examination on commission is inadequate (e.g. need to confront the witness with original voluminous accounts, disputed signatures, or physical exhibits in open court). 2. Format of Application: 'Application under Order XVI-A Rule 2 read with Section 151 CPC for issuance of production warrant to the Superintendent of Central Jail for examination of [Name of Prisoner] as Witness No. [X]'.
हिंदी पाठ
जहां न्यायालय को यह प्रतीत होता है कि राज्य के भीतर किसी कारागार में परिरुद्ध या निरुद्ध किसी व्यक्ति का साक्ष्य किसी वाद में तात्त्विक (Material) है, वहां न्यायालय कारागार के भारसाधक अधिकारी से यह अपेक्षा करने वाला आदेश दे सकेगा कि वह उस व्यक्ति को साक्ष्य देने के लिए न्यायालय के समक्ष पेश करे: परन्तु यदि कारागार से न्यायालय-भवन की दूरी पच्चीस (25) किलोमीटर से अधिक है, तो ऐसा कोई आदेश तब तक नहीं किया जाएगा जब तक कि न्यायालय का यह समाधान न हो जाए कि कमीशन पर ऐसे व्यक्ति की परीक्षा पर्याप्त नहीं होगी।