Witness - chapter 1

Witness

• witness is the window of the Hon'ble court, through whom the truth can be seen.

• witnesses are the inner eyes of the Hon'ble court with the help of those eyes it travels to the date of incident in ascertainment of truth.
• witness is a person who witnessed the incident;

• a person means male or female or no gender or may be a child;

• witnessed means has seen includes all sensory  reciptical functions of human being.

• incident means  an occurance/ happen

in total we can come to a conclusion that a witness is a person who has seen / has experienced the incident or it's incidental consequences

• let us see the  on line dictionary meaning of witness 

1. (v. i.) One who testifies in a cause, or gives evidence before a judicial tribunal; as, the witness in court agreed in all essential facts.
2. (v. t.) To see or know by personal presence; to have direct cognizance of.
3. (v. i.) That which furnishes evidence or proof.
4. (v. t.) To see the execution of, as an instrument, and subscribe it for the purpose of establishing its authenticity; as, to witness a bond or a deed.
5. (v. i.) One who is cognizant; a person who beholds, or otherwise has personal knowledge of, anything; as, an eyewitness; an ear witness.
6. (v. i.) Attestation of a fact or an event; testimony.
7. (v. t.) To give testimony to; to testify to; to attest.
8. (v. i.) One who sees the execution of an instrument, and subscribes it for the purpose of confirming its authenticity by his testimony; one who witnesses a will, a deed, a marriage, or the like.
9. (v. i.) To bear testimony; to give evidence; to testify.

Either Indian evidence act or criminal procedure code or the Indian penal code directly not defined the word " witness ".

sec.118 of Indian Evidence act said  who may be called as witnesses ? who can testify ?

All persons shall be competent to testify unless the Court considers that they are prevented from understanding the question put to them, or from giving rational answer to those questions, by tender years, extreme old age, disease, whether of body and mind, or any other cause of the same kind.

Explanation

A lunatic is not incompetent to testify, unless he is prevented by his lunacy from understanding the questions put to him and giving rational answers to them.

types of witnesses

• direct / eye witness
• independent witness
• relative witness
• chance witness
• by pass witness
• dumb witness
• child witness
• aged witness
• lunatic witness
• dumb and deaf witness
• hear say witness
• planted/stock witness
• panch witness
• sizer witness
• expert witness
• approver witness

dumb witness :- sec.119 of evidence act says

 A witness who is unable to speak may give his evidence in any other manner in which he can make it intelligible, as by writing or by signs; but such writing must be written and the signs made in open Court. Evidence so given shall be deemed to be oral evidence.

His signs - how to record his signs. 

whether court has to record his signs or 

the meaning of his signs or 

the interpretations of his signs.

interpretations - who is competent to interpret his signs.

how to deal with untrained dumb witness.