Report No. 198

5.15 Bimal Kaur Khalsa's case (P&H High Court, Full Bench): Protection of witnesses from media: (1988)

We shall next refer to the Full Bench judgment of the High Court of Punjab and Haryana in Bimal Kaur Khalsa case AIR 1988 P&H p. 95. In that case, it was observed that neither the Court nor the government can ensure the 'total safety' of a prosecution witness. A witness deposing in a criminal case does so with a sense of public duty. The Court can however take steps to stop the dissemination of information regarding the identity and address of the witness ensuring that the name, address and identity of the witness are not given publicly in the media.

Even this judgment does not deal with all the aspects relating to witness protection.