- In Sri Anish Loharuka vs State of West Bengal the Hon’ble HC of Calcutta has observed that strict compliance of the provisions of section 207 CrPC is not mandatory if there is a risk of disclosure of the minor victim’s identity. Instead, the Court can allow the accused or his pleader to inspect the document.
- The instant case was preferred against the order of the learned Sessions Court, wherein the supply of documents including electronic records under section 207 CrPC was denied to the petitioner. He was accused of various offences under the Information Technology Act, Indian Penal Code and POCSO Act.
- The Counsel for the petitioner submitted that the petitioner had been accused of committing offences against several women, one of them being a minor. He had filed two applications praying for the supply of documents afresh because the same were not legible and also the contents of a hard disk, which was seized in the case, which contained screenshots taken from mobile phone, WhatsApp, chat history, etc. The learned Trial Court had refused to supply copies of the same.
- The Counsel for the petitioner placed reliance on the decision of the Hon’ble Apex Court in P. Gopalkrishnan vs State of Kerala and anr. (2020) SCC and argued that an accused had an indefeasible right of being supplied with all the documents which could be relied upon against him in a criminal trial. The accused also has the right to send such documents to an expert for examination.
- It was also argued that the documents relied upon to prove the guilt of the accused have to be supplied to him irrespective of the issue of privacy of the complainant or or witnesses that may be there.
- The Counsel for the State, on the other hand, vehemently argued that although all the documents relied upon by the prosecution have to be supplied to the accused, but when the issue of the privacy of the complainant or witnesses or disclosure of the identity of the minor becomes an issue, then the documents cannot be supplied to the accused, at best, an inspection can be given to him or his lawyer.
- Referring to the decision of the Apex Court in P. Gopalkrishnan, the HC observed that it was abundantly clear that if there is a possibility of the disclosure of identity of a minor victim, even if he/she was minor at the time of the alleged offence, then instead of supplying the documents to the accused, it would be in the interest of justice that the accused or his pleader is allowed to inspect the documents in question.
- The Court also observed that the accused would have the right to have such a document inspected by an expert of IT.
- Thus, partly setting aside the decision of the Trial Court, the Hon’ble HC allowed copies of those documents which did not disclose the identity of the victim, to be supplied to the accused. He was also allowed to inspect the electronic evidence along with his pleader and an IT expert, if he chose to engage the same.
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