Sippy murder case: Punjab and Haryana High Court junks Kalyani Singh’s plea seeking documents

Chandigarh, April 30

The Punjab and Haryana High Court has dismissed a petition filed by Kalyani Singh seeking supply of certain documents in Sippy Sidhu murder case. Among other things, the Bench ruled that the prayer for unfettered right to inspect case diary entries, based solely on an unsubstantiated apprehension that the family/mother of the deceased has been provided such access by the police or the court, was untenable and went against settled ratio of law.

Justice Manjari Nehru Kaul asserted granting such broad access could potentially compromise public interest, especially when sensitive information like the identity of the informants was recorded in the case diary. “Allowing unrestricted access to such information could endanger the safety of informants and also discourage cooperation with law enforcement agencies,” the Bench asserted.

Referring to Section 207 of the CrPC, Justice Kaul asserted it ensured that the accused was informed of, and supplied all material, “relied upon”, by the prosecution to prevent surprise introduction of crucial evidence during trial that could deprive him or her of an opportunity to mount an effective defence. The failure to comply with the provisions would severely prejudice and be detrimental to the accused, potentially vitiating the entire trial. But applicability of the provisions was limited to supplying the accused with documents and materials only “relied upon” by the prosecution.

“However, it is well settled law that, in case, some documents are relevant and may impact the case of an accused, even if not relied upon by the prosecution, recourse under Section 91 CrPC would remain available to her/him at the appropriate stage of the trial, which needless to emphasise has to be decided by a Court, in accordance with law,” Justice Kaul asserted.