In Brief
In a criminal appeal arising from a murder case registered in Punjab, the Supreme Court set aside the High Court's order quashing the Trial Court's summons issued under Section 319 of the Criminal Procedure Code against additional accused persons. The Court held that even though a Special Investigation Team (SIT) found no evidence against the respondents, this does not fetter the Court's power to summon them when eye-witnesses examined in trial have named them as being present at the occurrence. The Court emphasized that summoned persons retain full trial rights including cross-examination and that avoiding justice through investigative findings conflicts with the principles underlying Section 319—that no guilty person should escape and no innocent should be wrongly punished. The Court allowed the appeals and directed the Trial Court to issue fresh summons.
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