Report No. 78

3.6. Amendment of procedural law.-

Finally, we may refer to an important recommendation made in the earlier Report for amendment of the procedural law in order to streamline the functioning of the Court of Session. At present a Sessions Judge cannot act on evidence recorded by his predecessor, and this causes considerable delay in the disposal of sessions cases.1 To avoid this, we recommended in the earlier Report2 that the law should be amended so as to enable a Sessions Judge to act on evidence partly or wholly recorded by his predecessor.

This recommendation, pertaining as it does to Courts of Session, is of direct importance in connection with the problem of number of under-trial prisoners and the duration of their detention, since a fairly large number of under-trial prisoners are persons charged with non-bailable offences triable by courts of Session.

1. Section 326, Cr. P.C., 1973.

2. 77th Report, paras. 12.3 to 12.7.