Manner in which Police diaries may be used by Courts

As to the manner in which Police diaries 
may be used by Courts, the following remarks 
should be borne in mind :— 
The Provision of section 172, that any 
Criminal Court may send for the Police 
diaries, not as evidence in the case but to 
aid it in an inquiry or trial empowers +he 
Court to use the diary not only for the 
purpose of enabling the Police 
When accused is 
entitled to see 
Police diaries or 
state of a 
witness recorded 
by Police. Vol. III. 2 Ch. 12. 
officer who complied it to refresh his 
memory, or for the purpose of contradicting 
him, but for the purpose of tracing the 
investigation through its various stages the 
intervals which may have elapsed in it, and 
the steps by which a confession may have 
been elicited; or other important evidence 
may have been obtained.
The Court may 
use the special diary, not as evidence of any 
date, fact or- statement referred to in it, but 
as containing indications of sources and 
lines of inquiry and as suggesting the 
names of persons whose evidence may be 
material for the purpose of doing justice 
between the State and the accused. 
Should the Court consider that any date, fact or 
statement referred to in the Police diary is, 
or may be, material, it cannot accept the 
diary as evidence, in any sense, of such 
date, fact or statement, and must before 
allowing any date, fact or statement referred 
to in the diary to influence its mind, establish such date, fact or statement by evidence. 
Criminal Courts should avail themselves of the 
assistance of Police diaries for the purpose 
of discovering sources and lines of inquiry 
and the names of persons who may be in a 
position to give material evidence and 
should call for diaries for this purpose. 

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