Facts: The petitioners, accused in Sessions Case No. 95 of 2020, challenged orders passed by the Sessions Judge allowing the prosecution to produce medical certificates of injured witnesses that were not part of the original charge sheet. The prosecution argued the documents were unavailable at the time of filing the charge sheet. The petitioners contended that producing these documents after the charge sheet violates Cr.P.C. provisions and relied on previous Bombay High Court judgments.
Procedural Posture: The petitioners filed a Criminal Writ Petition in the High Court of Judicature at Bombay, Aurangabad Bench, challenging the Sessions Court's orders allowing the prosecution to produce additional documents.
Issue: Did the Sessions Court err in allowing the prosecution to produce documents (medical certificates) not included in the original charge sheet, and does this violate the provisions of the Cr.P.C., specifically considering Section 173(8) and Section 362, and the rights of the accused?
Holding: No, the High Court dismissed the writ petition, upholding the Sessions Court's orders.
Reasoning: The High Court reasoned that the Sessions Court had correctly considered that the evidence had not yet commenced when it allowed the prosecution's application. The court distinguished the present case from the judgments cited by the petitioners (Bharat Chaudhari and Wazid Ansari), noting that in those cases, the documents were handed over by the victim, whereas, in this case, the prosecution itself filed the application. The court also emphasized that Section 294 of the Cr.P.C. does not bar the prosecution from filing documents subsequent to the charge sheet. The court found no illegality or arbitrariness in the Sessions Court's order, concluding that the petitioners were attempting to circumvent the earlier order that had already attained finality. The High Court also cited Niwas Keshav Raut vs. State of Maharashtra, and State of Maharashtra Vs. Ajay Dayaram Gopnarayan & Anr., emphasizing that Section 294 regulates the procedure of filing documents and does not prevent filing after the charge sheet.