Tilkeshwar Singh And Others vs The State Of Bihar on 8 December, 1955
13. The failure to record the statement of the witness under
section 161 of the Code, does not render the evidence of the witness
inadmissible, as is held by the Hon'ble Apex Court in Tilkeshwar Singh
vs. State of Bihar, AIR 1956 SC 238 but such failure may certainly
effect the evidentiary value of the evidence. The prejudice caused to
the accused is obvious. It would be for the Court to determine in the
facts of the case the impact of the prejudice on the fate of the
prosecution. It is neither necessary nor possible to device and apply a
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15 apeal586.17
straight jacket formula with any degree of precision. However, I have
no doubt in my mind that if the statements of a material witness is not
recorded under section 161 of the Code, the evidence of such witness
would have to be scrutinized minutely with extreme caution and unless
the evidence is of extremely sterling quality corroboration would be
necessary for the Court to attach any significant weight to such
evidence.