CRL.M.C. 7142/2026 Page 1 of 4 $~79 * IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI # CNR No. DLHC010457722026 + CRL.M.C. 7142/2026, CRL.M.A. 29840-29841/2026 GULSHAN OBEROI .....Petitioner Through: Mr. Dheeraj Tanwar and Mr. Raja Chaudhary, Advocates. versus SUSHMA KHANJEA .....Respondent Through: CORAM: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE SANJEEV NARULA O R D E R % 25.09.2026 1. This petition under Section 528 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 20231 assails the order dated 23rd July, 2026 passed by the JMFC, South-West District, Dwarka Courts, in CC No. 17923/2019. The impugned order dismisses the Petitioner’s application under Section 311 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 19732 for recall of DW-1. 2. The Respondent’s complaint under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 18813 concerns three cheques aggregating to ₹7,50,000/-. The trial is at the stage of defence evidence. 3. The Petitioner seeks to rely on a complaint stated to have been made by him at PS Ranhaulla regarding misuse of the cheques, and a document 1 “BNSS” 2 “CrPC” 3 “NI Act” This is a digitally signed order. The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above. The Order is downloaded from the DHC Server on 30/09/2026 at 11:40:30 CRL.M.C. 7142/2026 Page 2 of 4 relating to the stop-payment instructions issued to his bank. 4. The originals, according to the Petitioner, had been filed in separate proceedings before the Tis Hazari Courts. As the judicial file could not be traced, the certified copies were unavailable when DW-1 was cross- examined. The file was later traced, and certified copies became available in January, 2026. 5. The Petitioner then applied to produce the documents on record. On 19th February, 2026, the Trial Court allowed the application, noted that copies had already been supplied to the complainant, and listed the matter for further defence evidence. 6. On 27th April, 2026, the Petitioner moved an application under Section 311 CrPC to recall himself as DW-1 for the limited purpose of proving and exhibiting these documents. The Trial Court dismissed that application on 23rd July, 2026. 7. Counsel for the Petitioner submits that the documents do not introduce a new defence. The Petitioner had referred earlier to both the stop- payment instruction and the police complaint; their production was delayed only because the judicial record containing the originals was untraceable. DW-1, it is urged, should therefore be recalled for their formal proof. 8. The submission does not warrant interference with the impugned order. 9. Section 311 CrPC confers a wide power upon the Court to summon, examine, recall or re-examine a person at any stage of the inquiry or trial, and mandates such exercise where the evidence of such person appears to be essential to a just decision of the case. The breadth of the power does not make recall automatic. A party seeking recall must show why further This is a digitally signed order. The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above. The Order is downloaded from the DHC Server on 30/09/2026 at 11:40:30 CRL.M.C. 7142/2026 Page 3 of 4 examination of that witness is necessary in the circumstances of the trial. 10. The two documents could have been proved by summoning the record from the concerned Police Station and the Bank. However, there is a crucial circumstance that must be noticed. The Petitioner had cited, amongst his defence witnesses, the record clerks from ICICI Bank and PS Ranhaulla. Immediately after dismissal of the application under Section 311 CrPC, counsel for the Petitioner himself stated, for reasons known to him, that these witnesses were not relevant and sought their withdrawal from the list of defence witnesses. The request was accepted, and the witnesses were dropped. This was thus not a case where an avenue for leading defence evidence was closed by the Trial Court; the Petitioner himself chose not to pursue it. 11. Section 311 CrPC is not a means to secure the mode of proof most convenient to a party; recall is warranted only when the further evidence of that witness is essential to a just decision. Having sought withdrawal of witnesses earlier included in the list of defence witnesses, the Petitioner cannot, now seek to recall DW-1. 12. The Trial Court’s observation that the application was misconceived merely because defence evidence remained open cannot be sustained as an absolute proposition. Section 311 CrPC may be invoked at any stage of the proceedings; the relevant consideration is whether recalling the witness is essential to a just decision. That requirement is not met here. The Petitioner had not been foreclosed from leading defence evidence, but sought only to recall DW-1, whose testimony had concluded, for formal proof of documents already on record and relating to a defence already disclosed. In these circumstances, recall of DW-1 was not essential. This is a digitally signed order. The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above. The Order is downloaded from the DHC Server on 30/09/2026 at 11:40:30 CRL.M.C. 7142/2026 Page 4 of 4 13. Viewed thus, the rejection of the application has neither deprived the Petitioner of a fair opportunity nor occasioned any failure of justice. The circumstances do not warrant exercise of the inherent jurisdiction of this Court under Section 528 BNSS. 14. The petition, along with the pending applications, is accordingly dismissed. Nothing stated herein shall be construed as an expression on the admissibility, genuineness or evidentiary value of the documents which have already been taken on record; those matters shall be considered by the Trial Court, insofar as they arise, at the appropriate stage and in accordance with law. SANJEEV NARULA, J SEPTEMBER 25, 2026 nk This is a digitally signed order. The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above. The Order is downloaded from the DHC Server on 30/09/2026 at 11:40:30