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Sartaj Singh v. State of Haryana & Anr. Etc.

Criminal Appeal · 2021 INSC 185Decided 15 Mar 2021
Criminal Appeal Nos. 298-299 of 2021
Dr. Justice D.Y. Chandrachud · Justice M.R. Shah

Background

Sartaj Singh, a Sarpanch, was violently attacked by a group of assailants in July 2016 and named several specific individuals in his FIR, but after a departmental enquiry by a DSP, the police did not charge-sheet those named persons. During the trial, Sartaj Singh, as the injured eyewitness, specifically named these persons again in his examination-in-chief, and the trial court, exercising its power under Section 319 CrPC, summoned them as additional accused. The Punjab and Haryana High Court quashed this summoning order in a revision, reasoning that the statement had already been investigated by the DSP and that the extent of the witness's injuries seemed inconsistent with the number of attackers and weapons he described, suggesting "exaggeration."

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court held that the High Court had overstepped the limited scope of Section 319 CrPC by effectively weighing the credibility and probable truth of the eyewitness's testimony, an exercise appropriate only at trial, rather than simply asking whether a prima facie case existed to summon the additional accused. Relying extensively on its Constitution Bench ruling in Hardeep Singh v. State of Punjab and later decisions, the Court reiterated that a trial court can summon additional accused based on the examination-in-chief alone (without waiting for cross-examination), and that even persons named in the FIR but left out of the charge-sheet can be summoned under Section 319 if the trial evidence makes out a prima facie case against them: the test being "more than prima facie but short of near-certain conviction." Finding the trial court's original summoning order was properly reasoned and justified, the Supreme Court set aside the High Court's judgment and restored the order directing the private respondents to face trial.

Lesson Learnt

A criminal trial court can bring additional, previously unchargesheeted suspects into a case mid-trial once a witness's evidence makes out even a prima facie link to the crime, and a higher court reviewing that decision should not pre-judge the truthfulness or weight of that evidence, since that assessment belongs to the trial itself.

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

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