Report No. 185

Section 149

Question not to be asked without reasonable grounds.

We recommend revising the four illustrations as follows:

(a) A legal practitioner is instructed by another legal practitioner that an important witness is a thief. This is a reasonable ground for the first legal practitioner for asking the witness whether he is a thief.

(b) A legal practitioner is informed by a person in Court that an important witness is a thief. The informant, on being questioned by the legal practitioner, gives satisfactory reasons for his statement. This is a reasonable ground for asking the witness whether he is a thief.

(c) A witness, of whom nothing whatever is known, is asked by a legal practitioner at random whether he is a thief. There are here no reasonable grounds for the question.

(d) A witness, of whom nothing whatever is known, being questioned by a Legal practitioner as to his mode of life and means of living, gives unsatisfactory answers. This may be a reasonable ground for asking him if he is a thief."