Supreme Court Rules Trial Courts Must Question Prosecution Over Missing Witnesses

The <b>Supreme Court</b> has observed that trial courts must actively question the prosecution if crucial witnesses are not examined during a trial. A bench of Justice J.B. Pardiwala and Justice K. Vinod Chandran noted that courts are not mute spectators and must ensure the best evidence is presented. The ruling came in the case of Anil Singh @ Anil Kumar Singh versus the State of Bihar and others. The bench set aside concurrent findings of the Patna High Court and the trial court, which had previously rejected an application seeking the examination of a crucial witness. According to the apex court, trial courts hold the responsibility to prevent the suppression of vital evidence.