BHAGWAN SINGH vs THE STATE OF PUNJAB

The Supreme Court held that under Section 540 of the Criminal Procedure Code, the Sessions Court has the authority to examine witnesses not previously examined by the Committing Magistrate, and any irregularity in this process is curable under Section 537. The Court clarified that a witness's prior statement can be used as corroborative evidence if admitted, and the certificate from the Committing Magistrate is presumed correct under Section 80 of the Evidence Act until proven otherwise. The judgment distinguished previous cases and emphasized that objections to such procedures must be raised during the trial.