--S.540---Power of court to summon material witness or examine person present---Scope--

 2022 M L D 70
[Lahore]
IFTIKHAR ALI
Versus
The STATE and 2 others

Criminal Procedure Code (V of 1898)---

----S.540---Power of court to summon material witness or examine person present---Scope---Petitioner, an accused in private complaint, assailed order passed by trial court declining the summoning of two witnesses of challan case cited in the calendar of witnesses as court witnesses in private complaint---Petitioner argued that the statements of said witnesses of challan case could not be read in evidence in the private complaint hence, they were required to be examined---Held; present case was not the one in which police challan case and the private complaint case was to be proceeded with one after the other or the private complaint case to be proceeded earlier requiring all the witnesses of police challan case to be recorded after the closure of prosecution evidence, if not examined---Both the cases were proceeding side by side---If the petitioner deemed it appropriate that the stance of subject two private witnesses should be brought on record in the private complaint as well, he would have ample opportunity to get them examined as defence witnesses---Trial Court had rightly exercised its discretion keeping in view the facts and circumstances of the case--