In Brief
The Supreme Court set aside a High Court order that had allowed an application to summon a former police officer as additional evidence in a sexual assault conviction appeal. The respondent (Asharam) argued the victim had been tutored after viewing a video of the crime scene made by the officer. The Court held that the discretion to admit additional evidence at the appellate stage under Section 391 Cr.P.C. is more restricted than at trial stage. Additional evidence may be taken only when there would be failure of justice without it. Here, the allegation was inconsequential since the prosecution's core case was that the victim provided accurate descriptions without being tutored—a matter already tested through the victim's lengthy cross-examination. An eight-year-delayed application to re-examine witnesses did not meet the threshold. The appeal was allowed and the criminal appeal restored for expeditious hearing.
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