An indispensible part of the criminal justice system is witness, as he is the one whose stand determines the backbone of the decision of the case. It is universally accepted that witness are considered to be the most essential element to reach to the light of justice. From the times immemorial witnesses are serving as a key agent in the justice delivery system for finding truth. Therefore, the truthfulness of the witness’s testimony becomes the cornerstone of justice and therefore the witness is made to offer statement under oath. One should not exercise fear, force and pressure on a witness, also the witness must depose out of his or her own free will and consent. The quality of the statements given by a witness also determines the pace of a particular case.

Black’s Law Dictionary gives the following definition: “In the primary sense of the word, a witness is a person who has knowledge of an event. As the most direct mode of acquiring knowledge of an event is by seeing it, “witness” has acquired the sense of a person who is present at and observes a transaction.”[1]

[1] Black’s Law Dictionary, available at http://thelawdictionary.org/witness-n/#ixzz2cm686Dz8(last visited on September 19, 2013)

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