While dealing with the provision under sec 319 crpc the hon'ble supreme court has held that it can be done only after considering the evidence recorded during the trial and not based on the materials collected by police under sec 161 crpc. It has held that the word "evidence" means the evidence including chief and cross examination recorded during the trial before the court. the extract is given below:
"A discretionary power conferred in Section 319 Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 should be exercised only to achieve criminal justice, keeping a conspectus of the case, including the stage at which the trial has proceeded already and the quantum of evidence collected till then, and also the amount of time which the Court had spent for collecting such evidence."II. "The trial Court can take step to add persons as accused only on the basis of evidence adduced before it and not on the basis of materials available in the chargesheet or the case diary."CASES REFERRED TO:Joginder Singh v. State of Punjab | AIR 1979 SC 339 | | [Para 10]Krishnappa v. State of Karnataka | | (2005) MLJ (Crl) 190 (SC) | [Para 9]Lok Ram v. Nihal Singh | | (2006) 2 MLJ (Crl) 173 (SC) | [Para 14]Michael Machado v. Central Bureau Of Investigation | AIR 2000 SC 1127 | | [Para 7]Municipal Corporation of Delhi v. Ram Kishan Rohtagi | AIR 1983 SC 67 | | [Para 12]Shashikant Singh v. Tarkeshwar Singh | AIR 2002 SC 2031 | | [Para 8]Sohan Lal v. State of Rajasthan, | AIR 1990 SC 2158 | | [Para 13]