The Karnataka High Court has directed the trial court in Bengaluru to conclude a CBI case pending since 2013 by the end of December 2026, while emphasising the need for greater use of statutory provisions permitting undisputed documents to be admitted without formally examining witnesses.
Justice V Srishananda passed the order while dealing with a petition filed by a Port Officer at Old Mangalore Port, who sought quashing of a 2013 charge sheet on the ground that the prolonged pendency of the proceedings violated his right to a speedy trial.
The CBI opposed the plea, submitting that the delay could not be attributed solely to the prosecution. It informed the Court that 54 witnesses had already been examined and that an effort would be made to complete the trial within three months, subject to the petitioner’s cooperation.
The High Court declined to quash the proceedings and instead granted the trial court time until the end of December 2026 to complete the trial. It also directed the parties to cooperate by admitting and marking documents whose genuineness was not disputed and by dropping unnecessary witnesses.
The Court highlighted that Section 294(3) of the CrPC, corresponding to Section 330(3) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), is “hardly put to use” in trials. It directed all trial judges to adhere to the provision in pending trials. Section 330(3) states that:
330. No formal proof of certain documents.
Where the genuineness of any document is not disputed, such document may be read in evidence in any inquiry, trial or other proceeding under this Sanhita without proof of the signature of the person by whom it purports to be signed:
Provided that the Court may, in its discretion, require such signature to be proved.
The court noted that CBI trials often involve voluminous records, some of which may not be disputed as to their genuineness. The Court observed that requiring witnesses to formally prove such documents can cause avoidable delay.
The Court, thus, directed all trial judges to adhere to Section 294(3) CrPC, corresponding to Section 330(3) BNSS, in pending trials. It said the exercise should ideally be undertaken at the commencement of the trial so that undisputed documents can be marked by consent and unnecessary witnesses can be dropped, thereby advancing the constitutional objective of speedy trial.
In the case before it, the High Court granted the trial court time until December 2026 to conclude and directed the parties to cooperate in admitting undisputed documents and dropping unnecessary witnesses.
