Accused must get documents in language they understand: HC
The Punjab and Haryana High Court has made it clear that an accused in a criminal case is required to be supplied with documents in the language he understands for effective defence. An argument raised before the court that the counsel of the accused understood the language in which the documents were supplied, too, failed to find favour with the Bench.
Describing the argument as “totally misconceived”, Justice Rajesh Bhardwaj of the high court asserted: “It is the accused, who has to face the consequences of the trial and not the counsel.”
The ruling came in a case where an accused, unable to comprehend Punjabi, sought a translated copy of documents and statements in Hindi. The trial court denied the request, prompting intervention by the high court.
Appearing before Justice Bhardwaj’s Bench, his counsel Vineet Kumar Jakhar contended that the petitioner belonged to Jhajjar district in Haryana, where only Hindi language and Devnagri script was used for conversation. As such, he was not well conversant with Gurumukhi script or Punjabi language.
Justice Bhardwaj asserted the court was of the view that the purpose of supplying the challan or the chargesheet’s copy to the accused was to make him aware of the allegations against him by the prosecution. As such, he would be unable to instruct his counsel regarding his defence without understanding the allegations levelled against him by the prosecution were not without substance.
Justice Bhardwaj asserted: “There is no gainsaying that the petitioner has every right to defend himself. Thus, the court finds that the petitioner should be provided with a translated copy of the challan in Hindi. Section 230 of the BNSS provides for the supply of the police report and other documents to the accused… Thus, it is clear that supplying copies of the police challan/documents to the accused has also been provided under the law.”
Justice Bhardwaj added that the purpose of supplying the copy of the police report to the accused was to make him aware of the allegations against him so that he might be able to defend himself. The very purpose of supplying the documents would be defeated, if the documents were supplied in a language the accused was not familiar with.
Before parting with the order, Justice Bhardwaj directed the trial court to supply copies of the challan/police report to the petitioner within two weeks in Devnagari script or Hindi language. “Thereafter, after providing an opportunity of being heard to the counsel for the petitioner as well as the learned Public Prosecutor, the trial court shall pass a fresh order on the point of framing charges against the accused in accordance with the law,” the Bench concluded.
