Whether the matter is civil or criminal, the testimony of witnesses is crucial to the presenting of the evidence in a court of law. Another important factor that is solely decided by judicial personnel is whether or not a piece of evidence is admissible. A witness’s testimony is documented as a series of questions and answers. A witness may only respond to a question; they are not allowed to make a speech to the court. Only the facts pertinent to the problem are included in the witness’ testimony. Examining a witness is the process of documenting the evidence..

Section 135 of the Indian Evidence Act deals with the examination of witnesses present. In the Code of Criminal Procedure, Section 311 empowers the court to summon a material witness, or to examine a person present at “any stage” of “any enquiry”, or “trial”, or “any other proceedings” under CrPC, or to summon any person as a witness, or to recall and re-examine any person who has already been examined if his evidence appears to. Examination of witnesses is envisaged in the Code of Criminal Procedure whether in trials either session trial, warrant trial, or summary trial.

In the Code of Civil Procedure, examination of witnesses is enumerated in order XVIII of rule 4 to 16.

The Examination-in-Chief refers to the examination of a witness by the party who called that witness. Leading questions are not asked, and the exam is simply limited to pertinent facts. This examination’s goal is to elicit from the witness all relevant information about the party’s case that is in the witness’s knowledge. Every pertinent fact supporting the case of his client must be presented in a clear and chronologically accurate manner for the witness to testify to. Unless they are put through the test of cross-examination and come out uninjured from the rest, the claims made during the examination-in-chief lose a lot of credibility and weight.

Kinds of witness examination and their order
(Section 137 &138 of Indian evidence act) There are Three kinds of witness examination namely, (Section 137 Of Indian Evidence Act)

1. Examination In Chief
2. Cross – Examination
3. Re – Examination

Examination-In-Chief

The questioning conducted by the party who called the witness is known as a direct examination. On the opponent’s request, the testimony is then subjected to cross examination after being first scrutinized in chief.

A witness is given an oath or affirmation before testifying in court. It is noted his name and address. The party calling the witness then has the power to interrogate him in order to extract any pertinent information that is in his possession and would tend to support his (the party calling the witness’) position. This is referred to as the chief examination.

OBJECT OF EXAMINATION-IN-CHIEF

The purpose of the chief cross-examination is to extract the facts and establish relevant facts in favour of the party who called the witnesses. In other words, the goal of his examination is to learn all the information possible on the cases of the parties he is aware of from the witnesses. Leading questions cannot be asked without the court’s approval and must be kept to the relevant facts.

Cross-Examination

The adverse party’s cross-examination of a witness is known as cross-examination. A party’s opponent has the right to cross-examine his chief witness after he has been examined.

The importance of cross-examination is the questioning of witnesses summoned by one party’s attorney with the goal of either obtaining a favorable admission or discrediting the witness.

OBJECT OF THE CROSS-EXAMINATION

The objective of cross-examination is to determine whether the witness’s statements are true. It’s an attempt to dissect a witness or show that his testimony can’t be trusted.

Cross-main examination’s purpose was to examine the accuracy, authenticity, and value of the evidence presented in chief, to shift the facts already stated by the witness, to identify and expose differences, and to produce suppressed evidence to substantiate the cross-examining party’s case.

Re-Examination

Re-examination refers to the examination of a witness after the defendant who called him has conducted cross-examination. The person who summoned the witness may be re-examined if he so chooses and if it is required. The cross-examination-only objections must be the only ones that are brought up during the re-examination.

THE OBJECT OF RE-EXAMINATION

Re-examination refers to the examination of a witness after the defendant who called him has conducted cross-examination. The person who summoned the witness may be re-examined if he so chooses and if it is required. The cross-examination-only objections must be the only ones that are brought up during the re-examination..

Witness Protection Scheme, 2018

The Supreme Court (SC) has approved India’s First Witness Protection Scheme drafted by the union government and has asked the Centre, states and Union Territories to enforce” it in letter and spirit.

In the Supreme Court of India’s landmark judgment, Mahendra Chawla V/s Union of India,2018 SCC online 2678 the Supreme Court bench of Justice A.K. Sikri and Justice Ashok Bhushan, directed the formation of vulnerable witness deposition complexes in all district courts across the country in line with the Witness Protection Scheme (WPS) framed by the Centre. The bench further emphasized that the scheme would hold the field until there was any appropriate legislation to switch it

• The Scheme was drawn up by the Centre in 2018 with inputs from states/Union Territories, National Legal Services Authorities, civil society, High Courts and police personnel.
• The aim and objective of the scheme are to ensure that the investigation, prosecution, and trial of criminal offenses is not prejudiced because witnesses are intimidated or frightened to give evidence without protection from violent or other criminal recrimination

• According to the Witness Protection Scheme (WPS), the witness protection measures shall be proportionate to the threat and shall be for a particular duration not exceeding three months at a time. They may include:
• Ensuring that witness and accused don’t come face to face during investigation or trial;
  • Monitoring of mail and telephone calls;
  • Arrangement with the phone company to change the witness’s telephone number or assign him or her an unlisted phone number;
  • Installation of security devices, like security doors, CCTV, alarms, fencing, etc., at the witness’s home;
  • Concealment of identity of the witness by referring to him/her with the changed name or alphabet;
  • Emergency contact persons for the witness;
  • Close protection and regular patrolling around the witness’s house;
  • Temporary change of residence to a relative’s house or to a close-by town;
  • Escort to and from the court and provision of government vehicle or a state-funded conveyance on the date of hearing;
  • Holding of in-camera trials;
  • Allowing a support person to stay during recording of statement and deposition;
  • Usage of specially designed vulnerable witness court rooms which have special arrangements like live video links, one way mirrors and screens other than separate passages for witnesses and accused, with a choice to modify the image of face of the witness and to change the audio feed of the witness’s voice so that he/she is not identifiable;and
  • Ensuring expeditious recording of deposition during trial on a day-to-day basis without adjournments.

The programme identifies three categories of witnesses as per threat perception:

• CategoryA: Those cases where threat extends to the life of witness or family members during the investigation, trial or even thereafter.
• CategoryB: Those cases where the threat extends to safety, reputation or property of the witness or family members during the investigation or trial.
• CategoryC: Cases where the threat is moderate and extends to harassment or intimidation of the witness or his family members, reputation or property during the investigation, trial or thereafter

RIGHTS OF THE WITNESSES There should be certain standards of safety that need to be given to the witness by the state who comes forward to testify and it is the responsibility of the state to provide adequate protection to the witness. The various Law Commission Reports and the Witness Protection Scheme have identified certain rights that a witness possesses:

• Right to information of the status of the investigation and prosecution of the crime;
• Right to protection from harm and intimidation;
• Right to secure waiting place while at court proceedings;
• Right to submit evidence without revealing identity;  Right to occupy a secure place and transportation; and Right to be treated compassionately and with dignity and respect for privacy. It is mandatory for Investigating Officer/Court to inform each and every witness about the existence of “Witness Protection Scheme” and its features.

LEADING QUESTIONS

• A leading question is a question which suggests an answer. It is a question which itself contains the answer. In other words a leading question is one which leads the witness to the answer to be given by him.
• Section 143 permits leading questions to be put in cross-examination. However, section 142 prohibits a leading question being asked in chief examination or in a re-examination except with the permission of the court.

There are two main reasons for prohibiting leading questions in Chief -examination and Reexamination. Firstly, chief examination and reexamination are examinations of the witness by the party calling such witness and therefore such witness is presumed to be biased in favour of the party who brings him. Secondly, the party calling the witness is likely to know before hand what the witness will tell in the court, and if the party could ask the leading questions to his own witness, he would extract from the witness only such evidence that is favourable to him.

Indecent and scandalous questions?
Section 151 authorises the Court to forbid indecent or scandalous questions being asked even though such questions or inquiries may have some kind of bearing on the questions before the Court. But the Court however may permit such questions being asked if they relate to the facts in issue or to matters necessary to be known for the purpose of determining whether or not the facts in issue existed. More particularly in cases of rape, adultery, desertion, marriage and legitimacy, it may be necessary to put questions although they may be indecent and of scandalous form.

Questions intended to insult or annoy?
The Court is also authorised to forbid questions being put to the witness which appear to the Court to be intended to insult or annoy the witness although such questions may be proper but they are needlessly offensive in form. The reason behind forbidding such questions is that no respectable witness would be inclined to appear as a witness if questions are allowed to be put to him which are intended to insult or annoy him.

Hostile Witness

The term “Hostile Witness” does not appear in the Indian Evidence Act. When any witness is permitted by the court to be cross examined by the party who called him, the witness is popularly called hostile witness. If the court thinks from the evidence, demeanour, temper, attitude, tenor and tendency of answering the questions, from perusal of previous inconsistent statements of the witness that grant of permission is expedient to extract the truth and to do justice, the court can do so u/s. 154 of I.E. Act.
Hostile Witness-Credibility
• Simply because a witness has been declared hostile, his testimony does not become totally unreliable on that count. The evidence given by such witness remains admissible and there is no legal bar to pass a conviction upon his testimony, if corroborated by other reliable evidence. It is held by the Supreme Court that the evidence of hostile witness should
not be totally rejected if spoken in favour of the prosecution or accused, but it can be subjected to close scrutiny and that portion of the evidence which is consistent with the case of the prosecution or defence may be accepted.

Conclusion

The examination of witnesses is extremely necessary in any case, irrespective of its civil or criminal nature, and both the procedural laws clarify the examination of witnesses. Sections 135 to 166 of the Indian Evidence Act describe the examination of witnesses, including crucial aspects such as, for example, who may first interview the witnesses during the examination of the witnesses, what are the relevant facts agreed during the examination of the witnesses, what questions can be raised by the advocate during the cross-examination of the witnesses, what questions cannot be as follows.This Section does not deal with the admissibility of proof, but simply establish that a witness shall first be examined in chief,then cross examined and at last re- examined.