Pen-Drive Evidence Cannot Be Introduced At Belated Stage During Trial Without Proof Or Relevance: MP High Court

The Madhya Pradesh High Court has held that electronic evidence sought to be introduced at a belated stage must have clear relevance to the charges framed and be capable of proper proof, refusing to permit a pen drive allegedly containing the deceased patient's voice recording to be taken on record in a forgery case. Observing that the purported conversation related to medical negligence while the accused were being tried only for forging medical documents, the Court ruled that such material would not assist the adjudication of the offences in question.Justice B.P. Sharma was hearing a petition filed by Malini Jain challenging the order of the 1st Additional Sessions Judge, Chhindwara, which had rejected her application under Section 65B of the Evidence Act seeking to produce a pen drive containing telephonic conversations of her late husband. An FIR had been registered on 13.10.2021 against respondent No. 1 for offences under Sections 420, 467, 468 and 471 of the IPC on allegations that he had forged medical treatment documents of the petitioner's husband, who subsequently died during treatment.The petitioner contended that prior to his death, the deceased had informed family members over phone calls that he was not receiving proper medical treatment and that these conversations were stored in the pen drive. According to her, the recordings would establish that the accused attempted to conceal his negligence and fabricated medical records, making the electronic evidence crucial for a just decision of the case. It was argued that the trial court had mechanically dismissed the application without appreciating the relevance of the material.The respondents opposed the plea, submitting that no such fact was disclosed in the statements of family members recorded under Section 161 CrPC during investigation. They further pointed out that the application had been moved more than three years after the incident, casting serious doubt on the authenticity of the device and its contents.Upholding the trial court's decision, the High Court noted that there was no evidence on record to identify the voice in the recording as that of the deceased. The Court observed that even if the pen drive were accepted, “in the absence of any accepted and definite evidence identifying the voice of the deceased… the prosecution would have no evidence to prove the said conversation.” The Court further held that the content of the alleged conversation pertained to medical negligence, whereas no charge of medical negligence had been framed against the accused, who was being tried only for forgery of documents. As such, the material lacked relevance to the issues for determination.The Court also considered it significant that the incident dated back to 2021 and that the application was filed after three years and three months, with the alleged recordings never having been mentioned during investigation. Finding no infirmity or illegality in the impugned order, the High Court concluded that no interference was warranted and dismissed the petition as devoid of merit.Case: Malini Jain v. Pankaj Bhutad & Ors., MCRC No. 46418 of 2024Neutral Citation: 2026:MPHC-JBP:10763Click here to read order

Pen-Drive Evidence Cannot Be Introduced At Belated Stage During Trial Without Proof Or Relevance: MP High Court

Srinjoy Das

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