Report No. 198

5.11 Swaran Singh's case: (Plight of witnesses in criminal cases) (2000)

The expenses payable to witnesses provided in section 312 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 came up for discussion in Swaran Singh v. State of Punjab AIR 2000 SC 2017. The Supreme Court (Wadhwa J) described the plight of witnesses in criminal courts as follows:

"Not only that a witness is threatened; he is maimed; he is done away with; or even bribed. There is no protection for him."