Say the ratio out loud before you open Reasoning — recalling it unprompted is exactly what the exam pays for.
Why it matters
It completes the technology group by dealing with the accused's own presence. Of the three cases it is the one that shows a court reading an old procedural requirement in the light of both technology and access to justice, which is exactly the theme this paper joins the technology module to the legal aid module by.
Facts
The question was whether an accused needs to be physically present in court to answer the questions put to him by the court while his statement is recorded under s. 313.
Held
The majority held that the section had to be considered in the light of the revolutionary changes in the technology of communication and transmission and the marked improvement in the facilities of legal aid in the country. It was held that it is not necessary that in all cases the accused must answer by personally remaining present in the court.
Reasoning
Step one — ask what the examination is for. Section 313 exists so that the accused may personally explain the circumstances appearing in the evidence against him. The value is the opportunity to explain, not attendance as such.
Step two — take account of what has changed. Communication technology now allows that explanation to be given and recorded without the accused travelling, and improved legal aid means an accused is more likely to be represented and advised while he gives it.
Step three — relieve the burden where it serves no purpose. Insisting on personal attendance in every case imposes real hardship — the course makes the same point about a witness living in a remote part of the country, who should be examined by video conferencing rather than summoned to travel, so that the requirements of justice are harmonised with the ease and comfort of the witness.
Step four — keep it case by case. The holding is that personal presence is not required in all cases; it is not a general dispensation.
Exam use
It opens: How has information technology affected criminal procedure? — as the third of the three cases, after electronic notice and video-conferenced evidence.
Draw the thread for the examiner. SIL Import reads a requirement of writing to include a new medium; Praful Desai reads presence to include a virtual presence; this case relieves the accused of physical presence where it serves no purpose. Each asks what interest the old word protects and whether the new technology still protects it.
Link it to the legal aid module. The reliance on improved legal aid facilities ties this case back to Hussainara Khatoon, Khatri and Suk Das: a procedural relaxation is acceptable partly because the accused is more likely to be represented.
Name the current statute. The 1973 Code has been replaced by the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023; the examination of the accused should be cited from the corresponding provision of the new Sanhita.
It does not decide that an accused may always stay away, nor does it deal with the consequences of a failure to put material circumstances to him, which remains governed by the ordinary law on the examination of the accused.