Report No. 198

(2) Question is whether anonymity must be confined to criminal cases or should also be extended to civil cases as well? Should it be extended to defence witnesses also as done under the statutes in some other countries?

In our view, anonymity, for the present be confined to criminal cases only and to prosecution witnesses, where it is more needed. No doubt there are anonymity procedures even for defence witnesses also in some countries such as in section 13B(2) of the New Zealand Evidence Act, 1908 as amended in 1997 (see the Annexure to the Consultation Paper).

But, for the present, we are of the view that anonymity procedure be confined to prosecution witnesses in criminal cases.