This facility, first to come up in the Tis Hazari court complex, will have a separate room for vulnerable witnesses to provide congenial environment to them during deposition. While the witnesses now come face to face with the accused in the courtroom while giving their statement, under the vulnerable witness facility witnesses will sit in a separate room and depose via video-conferencing that will be connected to the courtroom, enabling the judge and the accused to see and hear him, sources said.
It will also have a huge one-way mirror window from where the accused will be able to see the witness. But the accused will not be visible, reducing the chances of the witness feeling threatened, they added.
District and sessions judge A K Chawla recently constituted a committee of three senior judges to supervise the construction of such a facility. The committee will look into its planning and arranging the logistics.
The lower judiciary is playing an active part in developing the comprehensive witness protection plan, especially after the Delhi high court's directions to the Delhi government to prepare a witness protection scheme while sending the case of Shyan Munshi and Prem Sagar Minocha-witnesses in the Jessical Lal murder case-to trial court for perjury proceedings.
"In any event, the law enforcement agencies shall conduct an assessment of the threat or potential for danger to any witness or witnesses.... If such threats are assessed to be sufficiently serious, and the witnesses request law enforcement assistance, witness protection funds can be used to provide assistance to witnesses which helps law enforcement keep witnesses safe and help ensure witnesses appear in court and provide testimony," the HC had said.
At present, the trial courts can arrange for police protection for the witness till the deposition is done. However, there is no arrangement to protect the witness once the examination is over.
Trial courts have often voiced their concern over the lack of any witness protection programme. "Threats to the witnesses do not result in fair trial. It has become very common now a days for the courts, particularly the courts dealing with criminal cases, to be confronted with such situations," additional sessions judge Kamini Lau had said while dealing with the issue of threat to a witness in a case.
The Supreme Court had discussed the issue extensively during the Best Bakery trial. It had said it is the obligation of the state to protect the citizens' lives, liberties and properties and duty of the court to step in to prevent miscarriage of justice which is perpetuated upon the victims and their families. The fate of the proceedings cannot always be left to the hands of the parties, the court added.
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