Section 278 of CrPC : Section 278: Procedure In Regard To Such Evidence When Completed

Explanation using Example

Imagine a scenario where a witness, Mr. Sharma, has just finished giving his testimony in a theft case at a district court. After his testimony is recorded by the court clerk, as per Section 278(1) of The Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, the clerk reads the testimony back to Mr. Sharma to ensure accuracy. Mr. Sharma realizes that his statement about the time of the incident was recorded as 3 PM instead of 3 AM. He points out this discrepancy.

The Magistrate then follows Section 278(2) and makes a note of Mr. Sharma's objection since he denies the correctness of the recorded evidence. The Magistrate decides to add a remark to clarify this point in the record rather than altering the original testimony.

Additionally, if Mr. Sharma had given his testimony in Hindi and the court record was in English, which Mr. Sharma does not understand, the court would be required under Section 278(3) to have the record interpreted back to him in Hindi to confirm its correctness.

However, if this process was taking place in Gujarat and the testimony was taken via Electronic Video Linkage, as per the state amendment, the steps outlined in Section 278(1)-(3) would not be necessary. The electronic record of Mr. Sharma's testimony would be considered the official evidence according to Section 278(4) and (5).