Accused Must Get CCTV Evidence Relied Upon by Prosecution; Electronic Evidence is Part of Section 207 Disclosure; Denial Can Affect Accused’s Right to Fair Trial under Article 21.
Jaipur: The Rajasthan High Court has ruled that an accused must be supplied copies of electronic evidence, including CCTV footage, that the prosecution proposes to rely upon during trial, holding that such disclosure is essential to ensure a fair trial.
Justice Anoop Kumar Dhand, set aside a trial court order that had refused to provide the accused with a DVD and pen drive containing CCTV footage collected during the investigation.
CCTV Footage Not Supplied with Charge-Sheet
The Court was dealing with a petition filed by an accused against the rejection of his application under Section 207 Cr.P.C. seeking copies of the DVD and pen drive containing CCTV recordings.
According to the record, the CCTV footage had been collected by the Investigating Officer and submitted along with the charge-sheet. However, when the charge-sheet was supplied to the accused, the electronic evidence was not provided to him.
“Electronic Evidence” Cannot Be Withheld
The Court held that where the prosecution intends to rely upon electronic evidence, the prosecution and the trial court are required to ensure that the accused receives it for the purpose of preparing an effective defence.
The Court emphasised that unless such material is supplied, the accused may not be in a position to properly put forward his defence.
The Court further held that all documents, including electronic records, produced along with the police report and proposed to be used against the accused must be furnished under Section 207 of the Code.
It specifically held that the contents of the DVD and pen drive could be supplied through a cloned copy, enabling the accused to access the same material that forms part of the prosecution case.
Fair Trial Rights Extend to Electronic Evidence
Justice Dhand observed that furnishing documents to an accused under Section 207 is a facet of the right to a fair trial guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution.
Privacy Concerns May Warrant Inspection Instead of Copy
The Court, however, noted that where the electronic material involves privacy concerns relating to a complainant, witness, victim or prosecutrix, the Court may, depending on the circumstances, permit inspection instead of supplying a copy and issue appropriate directions to balance the competing interests.
However, there were no such concerns in the matter to justify withholding the electronic evidence relied upon by the prosecution.
Trial Court Order Set Aside; CCTV Footage to Be Supplied Forthwith
Finding that the trial court’s order refusing the accused access to the CCTV material was not sustainable, the High Court quashed and set aside the order.
The petition was accordingly allowed, and the trial court was directed to forthwith provide the accused with a cloned copy of the DVD and pen drive containing the CCTV footage submitted by the prosecution along with the charge-sheet.