Delhi district court lawyers withdrew their strike after Police Commissioner Satish Golcha assured that police officers will physically appear in courts to give evidence. Bar leaders said their immediate demand was met, though BNSS amendment remains a long-term goal.
NEW DELHI: The lawyers of Delhi district courts on Monday ended their strike after the city’s police commissioner issued a new circular. The fresh order made it clear that police officers will now physically appear before trial courts to give evidence in criminal cases, instead of only appearing through video conferencing.
Earlier, the bar leaders had announced a strike starting today because they were unhappy with the previous circular of the Delhi police commissioner, which allowed formal witnesses to appear before courts through the video-conference (VC) facility.
Police Commissioner Satish Golcha, in the latest circular, announced that the earlier order has been modified.
He stated,
“It is hereby directed that in all criminal trials, all police officers/personnel shall physically appear before the Hon’ble Courts for the purpose of deposition/evidence.”
The circular further said that material witnesses must also appear in person before the court to give their evidence.
In a criminal trial, a formal witness is usually the officer who writes or signs the First Information Report (FIR) based on a complainant’s statement, the officer who accompanies the investigating officer (IO), or the malkhana-in-charge (custodian of case property).
A material witness is the IO who investigates the case and files the chargesheet, or the officer who recovers weapons from the crime scene and prepares the seizure memo.
Reacting to the development, Additional Secretary General of the Coordination Committee of All Delhi District Courts, Advocate Tarun Rana, said,
“Our demands have been met and we have now called off the strike…our long-term demand will be to get the contentious sections of BNSS amended but for now we are satisfied with the decision of the authorities.”
The lawyers have been demanding amendments to four contentious provisions of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS). Their primary concern is Section 530, which allows trial proceedings, including examination of complainants and witnesses and recording of evidence, to be held electronically to speed up cases.
Another is Section 308, which says evidence must be recorded in the presence of the accused, but also permits this to happen through audio-video electronic means at designated places notified by the state government.
Lawyers have also objected to Sections 265 and 266, which permit the recording of prosecution and defence witnesses’ evidence through audio-video electronic means at designated places. They argue that such provisions could tilt the trial in favour of the prosecution.
According to the bar leaders, while regular appearances and bail hearings may happen via VC, evidence must always be recorded only inside the court, whether by police personnel or any other witness.
This is not the first time the lawyers have protested on this issue. Last month, the Coordination Committee had already gone on a six-day strike against a notification issued on August 13 by Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena.
That notification had allowed police personnel to give evidence to courts directly from police stations via video conferencing.
Lawyers strongly opposed that move, arguing it would disturb the fairness of trials and give undue advantage to the police, who could manipulate evidence while deposing from police stations instead of appearing in court.
The strike last month had led to chakka jams (road blockades) outside six district courts of Delhi, and many proceedings were adjourned for almost a week.
The protest was withdrawn only after the Union home ministry assured that it would hold detailed discussions with all stakeholders.
Following this, the Delhi Police issued an order temporarily staying the operation of the notification. Bar leaders also met Union Home Minister Amit Shah on the matter.
However, on September 4, the Delhi police commissioner issued another circular referring to a Delhi High Court notification dated August 4.
That notification said that designated places for recording evidence include prisons, forensic departments, prosecution offices, and police stations. This again triggered anger among lawyers, who declared an indefinite strike starting today.
In a formal communication, Tarun Rana, secretary of the New Delhi Bar Association, said,
“Since a circular has been issued from the office of commissioner of police that in all criminal trials, all police officials/ personnel shall physically appear before courts for the purpose of deposition/ evidence, the coordination committee in its meeting held today has resolved that since our demand for direction of police officials to appear physically in courts has been met with, call for abstinence from work is being withdrawn.”
Earlier, on September 4, the committee had criticised a letter sent by the police commissioner’s office to the principal district and sessions judges, which suggested allowing police to present evidence virtually in courts.
Calling it contrary to the assurance previously given by the authorities, the committee had then announced an indefinite and intensified lawyers’ strike from September 8.
In the middle of these developments, the chairman of the Bar Council of India (BCI), senior advocate Manan Kumar Mishra, had also written to bar leaders of the district courts. On Saturday, he appealed to them to reconsider and said,
“Our demands have been met and we have now called off the strike…our long-term demand will be to get the contentious sections of BNSS amended but for now we are satisfied with the decision of the authorities.”
With the new order now ensuring the physical presence of police officers in trials, the bar leaders have ended their strike, although they made it clear that their broader demand of amending the BNSS sections still remains.
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