Orissa High Court notifies Vulnerable Witnesses Deposition Centres Scheme 2022 after directions of Supreme Court

The Orissa High Court recently notified its Vulnerable Witnesses Deposition Centres (VWDC) Scheme 2022 with the objective of ensuring a safe and conducive environment for recording the evidence of vulnerable witnesses..A notification to this effect was issued by the Registrar-General of the High Court on March 9..The said scheme has been issued in the light of the directions issued by the Supreme Court in Smruti Tukaram Badade v. State of Maharashtra and Another (2022). In that judgment, the apex court called for the need to set up facilities that can ensure a safe, barrier-free environment for recording the evidence of vulnerable witnesses."There is a pressing need to facilitate the salutary purpose underlying the creation of a barrier free environment where depositions can be recorded freely without constraining limitations, both physical and emotional. This requires not just the creation of infrastructure but sensitizing all stakeholders," the top court had stated..The apex court had also clarified that the definition of “vulnerable witness” contained in Clause 3(a) of the Guidelines for recording evidence of vulnerable witnesses in criminal matters of the Delhi High Court shall not be limited only to child witnesses who have attained the age of 18 years and should be expanded to include the following categories of vulnerable witnesses:1. Age neutral victims of sexual assault read with Sections 273 and 327 of the Code of Criminal Procedure 1973 and Section 354 of the Indian Penal Code 1860;2. Gender neutral victims of sexual assault read with Section 2(d) of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act 2012;3. Age and gender neutral victims of sexual assault under Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code 1860 read with paragraph 34(1) of the decision in Sakshi (supra);4. Witnesses suffering from “mental illness” as defined under Section 2(s) of the Mental Healthcare Act 2017 read with Section 118 of the Indian Evidence Act 1872;5. Any witness deemed to have a threat perception under the Witness Protection Scheme 2018 of the Union Government as approved by this Court in Mahender Chawla v. Union of India (2019);6. Any speech or hearing impaired individual or a person suffering from any other disability who is considered to be a vulnerable witness by the competent court; and7. Any other witness deemed to be vulnerable by the concerned court..A Bench of Justices DY Chandrachud and Surya Kant had further directed all High Courts to adopt and notify a Vulnerable Witnesses Deposition Centre Scheme within a period of two months..Supreme Court expands definition of vulnerable witnesses, calls for deposition centres in all High Courts.[Read the Notification].[Read the Orissa High Court's Scheme]