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Mahender Chawla & Ors. v. Union of India & Ors.

Writ Petition (Criminal) · 2018 INSC 1153Decided 5 Dec 2018
Writ Petition (Criminal) No. 156 of 2016
Justice A.K. Sikri · Justice S. Abdul Nazeer

Background

This writ petition under Article 32 was filed highlighting the lack of any statutory scheme in India to protect witnesses in criminal trials from threats, intimidation, and retaliation, which the Court noted often causes witnesses to turn hostile or avoid testifying altogether. The Union of India, in response, placed before the Court a draft "Witness Protection Scheme, 2018," prepared with input from States, Union Territories, NALSA, police authorities, High Courts, and civil society. No Parliamentary legislation on witness protection existed at the time, despite the Court having flagged the need for one in earlier cases such as Sakshi.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court gave its approval to the Witness Protection Scheme, 2018 in its entirety, covering categories of threat perception, protection measures (police protection, identity change, relocation, confidentiality of records, etc.), and procedure for witnesses to seek protection. It directed that the Scheme take effect immediately and be enforced by the Union, States, and Union Territories in letter and spirit, declaring it to have the force of "law" under Articles 141 and 142 of the Constitution until Parliament or the States enact a formal statute. It further directed that vulnerable-witness deposition complexes be set up in every district court in the country within a year (by the end of 2019), with Central Government financial support to the States.

Lesson Learnt

Witnesses in India now have a court-mandated protection framework, the Witness Protection Scheme, 2018, that is binding nationwide as law until Parliament legislates on the subject; a witness facing threats can invoke this Scheme for measures like police protection, identity concealment, or relocation.

Official source (sci.gov.in)View Judgment (PDF)

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