Rights of Accused during Preliminary Hearing Process and Witness Investigation

Abstract

This paper on rights of accused during preliminary hearing process and witness investigation. The author aims to study the rights of accused during preliminary hearing process and witness investigation and problems of the rights of accused during preliminary hearing process and witness investigation.

The study found that after the amendment of Code of Criminal Procedure, 2019 in part of the preliminary hearing process. The accuses has rights to make a statement of fact or legal provision, rights to ask witness upon the court’s approval, ultimate and inconclusive rights to have attorney in the court and the court has rights to protect the accused’s right by summoning a witness to the court. The well-grounded order shall base on facts and reasons reasonably. However, there is still a problem in case the accused has no rights to investigate witness during the preliminary hearing process. The rights to make a statement of fact or legal provision isn’t covered. It was found that there was effect on court’s exercising additional rights to investigate witness arbitrarily which affected victims and witnesses in the criminal case.     

The author suggests that Code of Criminal Procedure should be amended according to principles as follows. 1) The accused should have the rights to investigate key witness in terms of well-grounded issue and dishonest complainant in a case with heavy or severe criminal punishment and the accused comes to the court. 2) The accused should have the rights to make a statement of dishonesty or distortion of complainant. 3) The interest of justice should be determined according to Section 165/2, first paragraph to maintain the court’s power to investigate witness arbitrarily according to Section 228. 4) The accused should not exercise the rights to delay the case and the witness should be protected from reinvestigation of the same witness.