The Karnataka High Court has eased a rule that required remote testimony from abroad to take place only at an Indian embassy or consulate. This decision arose during the hearing of a case involving a woman who accused her husband of cruelty and unnatural sexual acts. Justice Sachin Shankar Magadum issued the order on September 22, which was subsequently made publicly available.
The woman filed her complaint under specific sections of the Indian Penal Code pertaining to cruelty and unnatural sex, along with certain provisions of the Information Technology Act. Following the complaint, the police submitted a chargesheet against her husband. Seeking to participate in the proceedings while living overseas, she requested a relaxation of rule 5.3.1 of the Video Conferencing Rules, which mandates that remote testimonies be supervised by embassy, consular, or high commission officials.
Her request for flexibility was necessitated by the fact that the working hours of Indian consulates in the United States do not align with those of courts in India, prompting her to ask for permission to give testimony from her residence. Her lawyer argued that enforcing the rule seemed inappropriate since she was the complainant and not the accused. The husband’s legal team contended that there could be disconnection issues during cross-examination, potentially undermining his defense, especially when crucial questions were posed.
In response, the woman’s counsel countered these claims, highlighting that part of the examination had already been conducted successfully via virtual means. She expressed readiness to provide an undertaking ensuring she would not disconnect during the deposition, risking the dismissal of her evidence if she did.
Taking into account this undertaking, the court ruled in the woman’s favor, remarking that given the unique challenges of the case and the difficulties she faced in utilizing embassy services because of the disparity in working hours, both the examination-in-chief and cross-examination could occur via video conferencing directly from her home in the United States.
Original Source: https://indianexpress.com/article/india/karnataka-hc-relaxes-rule-allowing-video-testimony-only-from-embassy-or-consulate-lets-woman-depose-from-us-home-10344499/
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Publish Date: 2025-11-04 02:53:00
