I am a witness of a case, can NBW to CWS be issued if I don't attend hearings?

236 votes

In legal contexts, particularly within the Indian judicial system, the phrase "NBW to CWS" typically refers to the issuance of a Non-Bailable Warrant (NBW) against a Court Witness (CWS). This usually happens when a court witness someone called to testify by the court itself fails to appear despite repeated summons or possibly even after a Bailable Warrant (BW) has already been issued.

When the witness doesn't respond to summons or bailable warrants, the court may escalate the matter by issuing an NBW, which authorizes the police to arrest the witness and produce them before the court. This step is taken to ensure the witness's presence, especially if their testimony is crucial to the case. So, in short, "NBW to CWS" means a Non-Bailable Warrant issued for a Court Witness who is not cooperating with the judicial process.

LawRato LawRato

973 votes

Dear Querist, NBW is issued against a Witness only after several notices are sent to such Witness and if such notices for appearance in the Court are repeatedly ignored post which a BW is issued and when the Witness still does not heed to such BW, only then an NBW is issued. Thus Courts do exercise caution before issuing NBW's to Witness. In your query it is not clear whether you have received notices till now and whether you have failed to appear post such Notices and whether you were presented with a BW for appearance. I am not certain with what you mean by "they will issue NBW" because it seems NBW has not yet been issued to you. Do enquire who has supplied you with this information, nowadays you also get to see the Case information online thus you can verify whether the Trial is really being scheduled at the proposed date.Hope you have the case number, name of the Prosecutor, Investigating Officer, etc. with you and if you dont have it please do request for this info. Dont forget to inform about your correspondance address or any updates related to it to the Court. In case you have not received any official intimation to that effect you need not worry. However please note your appearance may be crucial for the trial and your testimony could be a matter of life and death for someone. Do attend the trial if you are called upon by the Court and as your social responsibility. You may tell the Court your concern about the lingering testimony for years and your other commitments, possibly the Court may consider option to your convenience.

Advocate Abhiraaj Sanjeev Kulkarni LawRato