Regulation 45 - Power of Commission or Director General to issue commissions for examination of witnesses or documents - CCI (General) Regulations, 2024

45. Power of Commission or Director General to issue commissions for examination of witnesses or documents. (1) Subject to the provisions of clause (d) of sub-section (2) of section 36 and sub-section (2) of section 41 of the Act , the Commission or the Director General, as the case may be, either on its or his own motion or on an application made by a party to any proceeding before the Commission or the Director General, may issue a commission for the examination on questionnaires or otherwise of the specified witness(es), (a) residing within India; (b) who is about to leave India before the date on which he or she is required to be examined as a witness; (c) who, being in the service of the Central Government, a State Government or a statutory authority, cannot, in the opinion of the Commission or the Director General, as the case may be, attend without detriment to the public service; (d) who is unable to attend due to sickness or infirmity; (e) who resides at a place which is more than five hundred kilometres distance from the office of the Commission or the Director General, as the case may be, and whose attendance, in the opinion of the Commission or the Director General, as the case may be, cannot be procured without incurring unnecessary expense within the stipulated time; (f) not being covered under any of the situations mentioned in clauses (a) to (e), if his or her evidence is considered necessary in the interest of justice. (2) Subject to the provisions of sub-regulation (1), the Commission or the Director General, as the case may be, either on its or his own motion or on an application made by a party to any proceeding before the Commission or the Director General, may also issue a commission for the examination on questionnaires or otherwise of any witness residing at any place not within India if satisfied that the evidence of such witness is necessary and may issue a letter of request to the Indian High Commission or the Indian Embassy to facilitate the execution of the commission, under this regulation. (3) Subject to the provisions of sub-regulations (1) and (2), the Commission or the Director General, as the case may be, either on its or his own motion or on an application made by a party to any proceeding before the Commission or the Director General, may also issue a commission for the examination of specific document(s) whether available in any place situated within or without India and whether or not held in the custody of any witness being examined on questionnaires as per sub-regulations (1) and (2). (4) A commission for the examination of a witness on questionnaires or otherwise or for examination of a document issued under sub-regulation (1) or (2) or (3) may be issued to any public servant within the meaning of sub-section (28) to section 2 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (45 of 2023) or a counsel and such public servant or the counsel, as the case may be, shall be appointed as the commissioner only for the purposes of executing the commission. (5) Every public servant or the counsel, referred to in sub-regulation (4), upon receiving a commission under sub-regulation (4) shall examine the witness or the document, as the case may be, or cause the witness or the document to be examined pursuant thereto and on due execution, shall return the commission together with the evidence taken under it to the Commission or the Director General, as the case may be. (6) The Commission or the Director General, as the case may be, shall furnish the commissioner appointed under sub-regulation (4) with such part of record of the proceedings and such instructions as appear necessary and the instructions shall distinctly specify that the commission is restricted to finding the facts through the examination as directed and the Commissioner is merely required to transmit the record of the proceedings to the Commission on completion of the examination. (7) Any Commissioner appointed under this regulation may, unless otherwise directed by the order of appointment (a) examine the witness himself; (b) call for and examine the documents and other things relevant to the subject of inquiry. (8) The Commission or the Director General, as the case may be, issuing a commission under this regulation shall fix a date on or before which the commission shall be returned after execution, and the date so fixed shall not be extended except, for reasons to be recorded, the Commission or the Director General, as the case may be, is satisfied that there is sufficient cause for extending the date.