2026:UHC:3338 SL. No. Date Office Notes, reports, orders or proceedings or directions and Registrar’s order with Signatures COURT’S OR JUDGE’S ORDERS C528/825/2026 Hon’ble Alok Mahra, J. Mr. S.C. Burman, learned counsel for the applicant through Video Conferencing. 2. Mr. S.C. Dumka, learned A.G.A. for the State. 3. Present C-528 application has been filed seeking quashing of the order dated 25.02.2026 passed by the learned Special Judge (POCSO)/ Additional District Judge, Dehradun in Special Sessions Trial No. 61 of 2024, arising out of offences under Sections 363, 366-A, 376(3) I.P.C. and Sections 3/4 of the POCSO Act, whereby the application filed by the applicant under Section 311 Cr.P.C. (now Section 348 B.N.S.S.) for recall/re-examination of PW-1 (victim) has been rejected. 4. Learned counsel for the applicant would submit that the F.I.R. was initially lodged against an unknown person alleging that the minor daughter of the complainant went missing after leaving for school; that, during investigation, the involvement of the present applicant surfaced and, upon completion of investigation, a charge-sheet was submitted, on which cognizance was taken by the trial court on 22.04.2024. It is further submitted that the victim (PW- 1) was examined-in-chief on 07.10.2024 and cross-examined on 20.03.2025; that, 2026:UHC:3338 thereafter, the applicant moved an application under Section 311 Cr.P.C. seeking recall of PW-1 on the ground that certain material questions could not be put to the witness due to lapse on the part of previous counsel. It is contended that the said application has been erroneously rejected by the trial court on untenable grounds, including that the victim is a minor and that the application was intended to delay the trial. 5. Per contra, learned State counsel supports the impugned order and would submit that the application under Section 311 Cr.P.C. was wholly devoid of merit, as no specific or justifiable ground was disclosed warranting recall of the prosecutrix. It is further submitted that repeated summoning of a minor victim in a POCSO trial would be contrary to the settled principles of law and would cause unnecessary harassment, and that the application was rightly rejected as an attempt to protract the proceedings. 6. Having heard learned counsel for the parties and upon perusal of the material on record, this Court finds that the scope of Section 311 Cr.P.C. is to enable the court to summon or recall a witness only if such evidence appears to be essential for the just decision of the case. The provision cannot be invoked to fill up lacunae in the defence or to rectify omissions attributable to earlier counsel, in the absence of any specific and compelling reason. 2026:UHC:3338 7. In the present case, a perusal of the application under Section 311 Cr.P.C. reveals that no concrete or specific ground has been assigned necessitating recall of PW-1. The sole plea that certain questions were not put by the previous counsel does not constitute a valid ground for recall of a witness, particularly in a case involving a minor victim under the POCSO Act. The law is well-settled that such power must be exercised sparingly and with circumspection, keeping in view the rights of the victim and the need to avoid undue delay in trial. 8. Perusal of the impugned order would reveal that the trial court has rightly observed that recalling the minor victim for further cross-examination, in the absence of any justifiable cause, would not only amount to unnecessary harassment but would also defeat the object of expeditious trial under the POCSO Act. No illegality, perversity, or jurisdictional error is found in the impugned order warranting interference. 9. Accordingly, the present application, being devoid of merit, is dismissed. 10. No order as to costs. (Alok Mahra, J.) 02.05.2026 Mamta MAM TA RANI Digitally signed by MAMTA RANI DN: c=IN, o=HIGH COURT OF UTTARAKHAND, ou=HIGH COURT OF UTTARAKHAND, 2.5.4.20=6a812005bebfcf46f24 4f3e584af1449e430ef900bf09a 6d67ebbd642671329b, postalCode=263001, st=Uttarakhand, serialNumber=5de1751a4f1d9c abfd54852c9e68911ca8b66dd 26690a191648ab5d8dd004ef0, cn=MAMTA RANI Date: 2026.05.05 10:19:03 +05'30'