Utsav Mandal, The West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences
Introduction
According to Black's Law Dictionary, "Witness is one who sees, knows or vouches for something or one who gives testimony, under oath or affirmation in person or by oral or written deposition, or by affidavit".
According to Bentham, "Witnesses are the eyes and ears of justice".
According to J. Wadhwa, "A criminal case is built on the edifice of evidence, evidence that is admissible in Law. For that witnesses are required, whether it is direct evidence or circumstantial evidence"
According to Black's Law Dictionary the term 'Witness' means:
Person who sees a document signed
Person called to court to testify and provides evidence.
There are Child Witness, Interested Witness, Eye Witness, Hostile Witness, Related Witness, Independent Witness, Solitary Witness, Material Witness, Trap Witness, Expert Witness & Official Witness who assist in concluding the trial for delivering the justice.
Whether the matter is civil or criminal, the testimony of witnesses is crucial to the presenting of the evidence in a court of law. The evidence of a witness is documented as a question-and- answer session, during which the witness is only allowed to respond to the question and not address the court. Only the facts pertinent to the problem are included in the witness' testimony. Examining a witness is the process of documenting the evidence.
