Rajkot: In a significant boost to the prosecution in a 2023 murder case from Rajkot district, Gujarat High Court allowed the recall of a medical officer and two key witnesses for re-examination, holding that criminal courts must prioritise the discovery of truth over procedural lapses.The ruling revives crucial evidence in the trial over the fatal stabbing of a 29-year-old Ashish Bhadarka, who suffered 16 stab wounds after a fight over a video recording with the accused, Vinay Dhamecha, on July 15, 2023, near a gym in Upleta town.The trial is currently before the sessions court at Dhoraji, where the defence insisted on producing the police station diary.According to the prosecution, the document revealed discrepancies with medical evidence on record.The medical certificate issued by Dr Shweta Bathwar stated that the accused was brought to the hospital by police at 9.50pm. However, the station diary and medico-legal case (MLC) records indicated that the accused reached the hospital on his own at 8.45pm and personally narrated the history of the incident to the doctor.The prosecution also realised it had inadvertently failed to exhibit the statements of two crucial witnesses recorded under Section 164 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC).The witnesses — Vijay Goswami, owner of the gym, and Piyushgiri Goswami, father of a common friend of the accused and the deceased before whom the accused had allegedly made an extra-judicial confession — did not fully support the prosecution at trial. According to the prosecution, although both witnesses were examined, their Section 164 statements were not exhibited.To rectify the omissions, the prosecution filed applications under Section 311 of the CrPC before the trial court, seeking permission to recall the medical officer and the two witnesses for further examination. The trial court rejected the applications, observing that no satisfactory explanation had been offered for the lapses.The victim’s father and original complainant, Natha Bhadarka, challenged this decision before the high court.Allowing the petition, Justice M K Thakker quashed the trial court’s Dec 2025 order and permitted the prosecution to recall the witnesses.Delivering the judgement on June 29, Justice Thakker observed that the primary duty of a criminal court is to administer justice and discover the truth, not merely to “count the mistakes committed by either party or to determine which side has conducted its case more efficiently”.“Relying on several Supreme Court precedents, the high court noted that Section 311 of CrPC grants broad discretionary powers to summon or recall any witness,” said K M Parekh, additional public prosecutor in the trial court.
