Praveen Sambhaji Pawar v. the State of Maharashtra and Anr.
Case brief
What is this about?
Bombay High Court (N. J. Jamadar, J.) in Writ Petition No. 1344 of 2026, decided 26 March 2026, dismissed the petition challenging the Magistrate's order dated 11 November 2022 rejecting recall of the complainant for further cross-examination in a Section 138 Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881 case. Cross-examination of the complainant by the Accused was completed on 14 November 2024 with a Magistrate's endorsement; refusal to permit recall on the ground that important questions were not put cannot be faulted; recall of a witness is not allowed for the asking or for mere convenience, per State (NCT of Delhi) v. Shiv Kumar Yadav, (2016) 2 SCC 402.
What did the court decide?
Since the Petitioner-Accused had already cross-examined the complainant in the complaint punishable under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881, and the cross-examination was complete, the refusal to recall the complainant on the ground that certain questions were not put cannot be faulted.