In Brief
Twenty persons were prosecuted for the murder of Bhagwan Singh in Sikar, Rajasthan in 2005. Nine appellants were convicted by the trial and high courts. The Supreme Court dismissed their appeal on substantive grounds but expressed grave concern about the trial court's conduct: it had adjourned proceedings for four months after the examination-in-chief of a star witness, causing four family witnesses to become hostile. The Court reaffirmed that criminal trials must strictly comply with Section 309 of the Criminal Procedure Code, which requires continuous day-to-day witness examination once it begins. The Court stressed that lengthy adjournments risk witnesses succumbing to pressure from accused persons, undermining trial fairness. It directed trial courts to examine eye-witnesses expeditiously and recommended High Courts issue compliance directions to all trial courts.
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