SC: "witness turning hostile, erodes people's faith in the system"

While adjudicating well debated BMW accident case, The Supreme Court has expressed a huge concern over the recent trend of witnesses turning hostile in high profile cases, saying this is a "disturbing" factor faced by courts is eroding faith in the judicial system. "Reasons are many for the witnesses turning hostile, but of late, we see, especially in high profile cases, there is a regularity in the witnesses turning hostile, either due to monetary consideration or by other tempting offers which undermine the entire criminal justice system and people carry the impression that the mighty and powerful can always get away from the clutches of law thereby, eroding people's faith in the system," Justice S Radhakrishnan said.