Witness Identity Protection - Law Commission of India

27“Section 273. Evidence to be taken in presence of accused:Except as otherwise expressly provided, all evidence taken inthe course of the trial or other proceedings shall be taken in thepresence of the accused, or, when his personal attendance isdispensed with, in the presence of his pleader.Explanation: In this section, ‘accused’ includes a person in relationto whom any proceeding under Chapter VIII has been commencedunder this Code.”(ii) Section 327 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 bears theheading: ‘Court to be open’. It reads, in so far as it is material in thepresent context, as follows:“Section 327: Court to be open: (1) The place in which any criminalCourt is held for the purpose of inquiry into or trying any offenceshall be deemed to be an open Court, to which the public generallyhave access, so far as the same can conveniently contain them.”But this right to open trial is not absolute. There are a number ofexceptions. Some of the exceptions are detailed below.(a)Under the proviso to subsection (1) of sec 327 it is stated as follows: