Court denies permission to refer to documents in Suleman Usman Bakery Firing Incident Case

The Suleman Usman Bakery firing incident of 1993 is a tragic event in the history of Mumbai. Touted to be a dark chapter, the incident has left marks in the minds of Mumbaikars. Policemen allegedly fired on unarmed Muslims inside the bakery and its adjoining structures in Mohammad Ali Road which led to the death of several innocent people, and the perpetrators were brought to trial.

Recently, a sessions court passed an order in the case, not permitting a doctor who had conducted post-mortem of victims to testify before it by reading out from documents prepared by him during the procedure. The retired medical professional, who is 71 years old, had conducted the post-mortem of eight victims, and he had come before the court in December last year to testify. A detailed report was published in the Free Press Journal. 

However, the court was informed that the original documents of the hospital had been destroyed in 2005 as per an order of the city police commissioner. The doctor was required to make elaborate testimony of the types of injuries, etc., in his testimony. He was reading from the documents available in court record to testify. After the defence took objection to this, the prosecution made an application that he be permitted to refresh his memory by referring to reports he had prepared then. It had said that he had conducted the procedures 29 years ago and was thus entitled to refresh his memory while giving testimony in court.

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The court acknowledged that the post-mortem was conducted 29 years ago and allowed the witness to refer to the copy of the documents to refresh his memory. However, the court disallowed him from reading and deposing about the post-mortems on the basis of reports available in court record. Further, the witness cannot be allowed to state facts by referring to documents before the court.

The court's decision is significant in that it recognizes the importance of witnesses' testimony and their ability to remember and recount events. The court acknowledged that the witness could refer to documents to refresh his memory, but it also recognized that he could not rely solely on these documents to give his testimony. This decision is crucial in ensuring that the court proceedings are conducted fairly and that the evidence presented is reliable.

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The recent decision of the sessions court regarding the testimony of the medical professional who conducted the post-mortem of the victims is an essential step in ensuring that justice is served in the case. The court's decision sets a crucial precedent for future cases where witnesses may need to refer to documents to refresh their memory.