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Judgment
B.V. Pinto
This petition is filed seeking to set aside the order dated 03.11.2011 passed by the 32nd Additional City Civil and Session Judge and Special Judge for CBI cases, Bangalore, in Special C.C.No. 67/2010 rejecting the application filed u/s 91 Cr.P.C by the petitioner.
It is the case of the petitioner that he is the accused in the said case and that in order to probablise the defense, the documents sought to be summoned are necessary and when an application is filed before the concerned Public Information Officer, an endorsement was given to him stating that the documents relate to personal information and revealing the same would amount to unnecessary evasion of privacy of individuals and same are not in the larger interest of public and hence, the disclosure is unwarranted.
Heard Sri Dinesh K.Rao, learned Counsel for the petitioner and Sri C.H.Jadav, learned Special Counsel for the respondent CBI.
It is seen that in the criminal jurisprudence the accused can be given an opportunity to defend himself unless the said opportunity hampers the right of any individual It is the cardinal principle of law that any incriminating materials can be summoned in order to protect the interest of accused to defend himself since the right to defend himself is a fundamental right of any citizen.
Learned Special Judge has not given any such reason for denying the application except stating that the documents are unnecessary. I am of the view that the summoning of documents will not cause prejudice to any person or any parties but it will be benefited to the person who faces the charges of offence and denying the prayer may have the effect of curtailing the liberty of an individual. Section 313 Cr.P.C., enables the accused to seek information in the form of documents or oral evidence to defend himself against the incriminating circumstances appearing against him. Hence, I am of the opinion that the petition deserves to be allowed. Therefore, the following order:-
a. The petition is allowed
b. The order dated 03.11.2011 is hereby set aside, c Learned Special Judge is directed to summon the documents from the persons in whose custody such documents are available and proceed with the matter in accordance with law.