HC judge lays stone of witness deposition centre

Gurdaspur, March 19

Justice Harminder Singh Madaan of the Punjab and Haryana High Court today laid the foundation stone of the ‘Vulnerable Witness Deposition Centre’ at the District Courts complex.

The centre will be established on the third floor of the judicial complex. Witnesses who are considered to be ‘vulnerable’ can depose here, away from the accused who sometimes intimidate witnesses.

The ‘Vulnerable Witness Deposition Scheme’ aims at providing safety to witnesses based on their threat assessment. Such witnesses may include sexual assault victims, those with mental illness, people with speech and hearing impairment or any other witnesses who believe they are in danger.

Those present were Rajinder Aggarwal, District Sessions Judge, DC Himanshu Aggarwal, SSP Harish Dayam, Navdeep Kaur Gill, CJM cum Secretary, District Legal Services Authority, Naresh Singh Thakur, president of the Gurdaspur District Bar Association and judges and lawyers.