doctors as a witness in court, as a expert witness and opinion formation. Hostile witness, Perjury, Conduct of doctors in court.

1. Witness ( Legal Procedures)
Dr Mohd Kaleem Khan
Assistant Professor
Department of Forensic Medicine
JNMCH AMU Aligarh

2. Definition
• Witness is a person who gives sworn testimony or
evidence in the court of law in relation to matters of fact
under inquiry
• Any person can testify as witness or give evidence
• Able to understand the nature of questions.
• To give rational answers to the questions asked.
• Difficulty may arise in
 Tender age (say for example boy of 6 years)
 Extreme old age
 In disease of body or mind.

3. Types
 Two types of witnesses
 Common
 Expert

4. Common Witness
• One who testifies or gives evidence to the facts
 Observed
 Heard
 Perceived
 common witness cannot draw inferences or form
opinions.

6. Expert Witness
• An expert witness is a person who, by virtue of his
professional training, is
 Capable of forming opinions
 Draws conclusions from the facts
▫ Observed by him or noticed by others.
• Examples are doctor, handwriting expert, fingers print expert,
ballistic expert, and chemical analyzer.

9. Hostile Witness
• A hostile witness is one who purposely makes statements to
the court.
 Contrary to facts
 Does not give his evidence fairly
• It is contradictory to the statement the witness made in the
previous deposition (e.g. statement recorded by the police).
• The common or expert witness may turn hostile.
• While examining a hostile witness, leading questions are
permitted even during examination-in-chief.

12. Jessica lal was shot dead in April 1999
Shayan Munshi was the complainant in the case. He had been at the
bar with Jessica Lal that night. But during the trial he disowned his
own statement saying he didn’t know Hindi, not even the word bayan
(testimony).
• sting operation from 2006 quickly exposed that
little bit of acting. Tehelka pretended to be a UK-
based company casting for a bilingual film.
Munshi went the extra mile to demonstrate his
proficiency in Hindi and boasted about eight
months of Urdu lessons.

13. Perjury
• Perjury means willful utterance of falsehood by a witness
under oath.
• Witness fails to tell what he knows or believes to be true
(section 191 of IPC).
• Prosecuted for perjury under section 193 of IPC.(With
imprisonment up to 7 years and fine.)

14. Procedure in Court
• When a doctor is called as a witness, he has to take oath
• The evidence is recorded in the following sequence (Section
138 of IEA)
1. Oath
2. Examination-in-chief
3. Cross-examination
4. Re-examination
5. Questions put by the court (Judge).

17. Examination-in-Chief
• It is the examination of a witness by the party who calls
him.
• In criminal cases, the public prosecutor commences this
examination.
• Objectives are to place before the court all the facts that
bear on the case, and if the witness is an expert, his
interpretation of these facts.
„
• No leading questions are allowed except in those cases in
which the Judge is satisfied that a witness is hostile.

18. Cross-Examination
• It is the examination of a witness by the adverse party
(defense lawyer).
• Objectives are:
 To elicit facts favorable to his case.
 To test the accuracy of the statements made by the witness.
 To modify or explain what has been said.
 To develop new or old facts.
 To discredit the witness.
 To remove any overemphasis which may have been given to
any of fact in direct examination.

19. Cross-Examination
• Leading questions are allowed (Sec. 143 IEA).
• Cross-examination has no time limit, may last for hours or even
days.
• „The court has the power to disallow questions which are
indecent or scandalous (Sec. 151 IEA) or intended to insult or
annoy, or offensive in form (Sec. 152 IEA).
• During cross-examination, if any question is not understood, the
witness should ask the lawyer to explain it better.
• Moreover, he should not volunteer any unrelated information.

20. Re-Examination (Re-Direct Examination)
• It is the examination of a witness subsequent to the cross-
examination by the party who called him.
• Objectives are:
 To clear any doubts that may have arisen during cross-
examination.
 To explain some matter in its proper perspective, so that under-
emphasis or possible misinterpretation may be avoided.
 Leading questions are not allowed.
 Opposing lawyer has the right of re-cross-examination on any
new point which has been raised.

21. Court Questions/Questions by the Judge
• The judge or the presiding officer of the court may put the
question to witness during any stage of examination to clear
up any doubtful points.
• The deposition is signed at the bottom of each page by the witness and on
the last page immediately below the last paragraph, and to initial any
corrections (Sec. 278 CrPC).
• The witness should not leave the court without the permission
of the Judge.

22. Conduct of Doctor in The Court
• Doctor giving evidence in the court of law should be modest.
• He should well dressed and have appropriate personal
appearance.
• Doctor should be honest, impartial in his evidence.
• He should maintain the dignity and should show respect
for the court.
• Stand up straight, be relaxed, calm and not be frightened
or nervous.
• Look people in the eye when you speak, for it gives the
impression of honesty.

23. • Never attempt to memorize. The law allows refreshing your
memory from copies of reports.
• Speak slowly, distinctly and audibly so that the typist can
record your evidence.
• Use simple language, avoiding technical terms to the best of
your ability.
• Address the Judge by his proper title such as ‘Sir’ or ‘Your
honor’.
• Do not evade a question. Say ‘I don’t know’ if it is so, for no
one can be expected to know everything.

24. • Do not loose your temper. An angry witness is often a
poor witness.
• Retain independence of your mind. A biased ex pert
is a useless expert.
• When asked to comment upon the competence of a
colleague, avoid any insulting remarks.
• If you do not wish to make any statement, say that
you have ‘no opinion’ or ‘no comments’.

25. • Do not refuse to answer any question—a medical
witness has no professional privilege.
• Do not volunteer any information beyond that is
asked for in the question.