"Accused has no right to file any materials or documents at the stage of framing of charges" SC

While deciding a petition of the applicant Helios & Matheson Information Technology Ltd. & Ors., in the matter of SPECIAL LEAVE PETITION (CRL.) NO.4606 of 2011, the Hon. Supreme Court of India, has reiterated the principle of criminal jurisprudence in respect of the rights of the accused at the time of framing of charges, as earlier decided in the matters of State of Orissa v. Debendra Nath Padhi (2005) 1 SCC 568, and has observed that " The law is that at the time of framing charge or taking cognizance the accused has no right to produce any material. No provision in the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (for short the "Code") grants to the accused any right to file any material or document at the stage of framing of charge. That right is granted only at the stage of the trial. Satish Mehra case, (1996) 9 SCC 766 holding that the trial court has powers to consider even materials which the accused may produce at the stage of Section 227 of the Code has not been correctly decided. It is well settled that at the stage of framing of charge the defence of the accused cannot be put forth. The acceptance of the contention of the accused would mean permitting the accused to adduce his defence at the stage of framing of charge and for examination thereof at that stage which is against the criminal jurisprudence."