162. Knowledge Spectrum – Discipline – BRIEF OF THE PRESENTING OFFICER 79.
239. While the charged officer has the benefit of knowing the submissions of the Presenting Officer before preparing the defence brief, the latter is denied a similar opportunity. Does it not put the Presenting Officer in a disadvantageous position?
One of the cardinal rules in criminal jurisprudence is that the prosecution has to prove the case without relying upon the defence. The following observation of the Supreme Court in Sharad Birdhi Chand Sarda vs State Of Maharashtra on 17 July, 1984 (1984 AIR 1622, 1985 SCR (1) 88] is relevant in this context:
It is well settled that the prosecution must stand or fall on its own legs and it cannot derive any strength from the weakness of the defence. This is trite law and no decision has taken a contrary view.
Accordingly the Presenting Officer has to submit his/her written brief without any reference to the submissions by the charged officer.
On the other hand the charged officer has to counter the allegations leveled in the charge sheet and controvert the submissions by the Presenting Officer. Thus it is in order that the Presenting Officer's written brief is made available to the charged officer and not vice versa.
240. What are the points to be taken care of by the Presenting Officer while preparing the written briefs?
While preparing the written brief the Presenting Officer should pay attention to the following aspects:
(a) Form : Although no form has been prescribed for the written brief of the Presenting Officer it is desirable that the same conforms to a form which will facilitate easy presentation and effective communication of the ideas
(b) Facts: The brief should contain all the relevant facts which help in establishing the charge and also the fact the charged officer has been provided with reasonable opportunity. Every inference/conclusion in the brief must be duly supported by evidence. This the facts based on which the conclusions are drawn must be pointed out,
(c) Logic: Bare facts may not be able to lead to any conclusion. The facts are to be linked to the charge through logic.
(d) Language: Although, ideas constitute the backbone of the brief, yet the language must be faultless, powerful, impressive and easy to understand.
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