1000 TIT BITS ON DISCIPLINE -216
Procedure to be followed in case of Defence Documents
845. Stage for making request for discovery or production. As already explained in the preceding chapter, the charged officer should be asked to furnish a list of additional documents required by him for his defence only after he has completed inspection of the listed documents and received copies of the statements made by the prosecution witnesses during the preliminary inquiry or investigation. The reason is that he can chalk out his defence strategy only after he has known the prosecution case sufficiently by going through the incriminating documents, as well.
846. Particulars to be furnished by the charged employee. He should submit a written request to the inquiring authority, indicating:
(i) full particulars of the documents, as known to him; (ii) designation and address of the authority having their custody; and
iii) their relevance to his case.
The relevance must be given with adequate specificity. The charged employee cannot be allowed to fish for evidence by raising demand for a large number of documents without being specific about their contents and relevance to his defence. However, it has been held that though the mention of relevance is an important condition, the omission to do so should not lead to refusal on this ground alone if the relevance of the document demanded is obvious [Gunanidhi Sahu v. Union of India, 1988(1) ATR 371).
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