New Delhi: A nodal agency for economic intelligence in the country has flagged the issue of current provisions of the Evidence Act being a big hurdle during prosecution, especially when a case is being investigated by several agencies.
The Central Economic Intelligence Bureau (CEIB) has written to the Law Ministry pointing that there is a "genuine need" to bring changes in the relevant sections of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872 to allow agencies use certified copies as `primary evidence` in courts.
It pointed out that often original copies of documents needed to pin the guilty are not available as it is with some other agency investigating the same case from a different aspect.
At times the original copy of document is with a court where it has been submitted as an evidence.
At present, a certified copy of a document is accepted as a `secondary evidence` and not as primary.
The CEIB, which works under the Department of Revenue in the Finance Ministry, has asked the Law Ministry to address the "anomaly" in the "larger interest of all the agencies concerned".
The issue of difficulties faced by investigation agencies during prosecution, when investigation is being carried out by multiple agencies came up for discussion at the meeting of the `Intelligence Group of Intelligence Apparatus` in May.
The CEIB was set up to create a body to coordinate and strengthen the intelligence gathering activities as well as investigative efforts of all the agencies which enforce economic laws as the evasion of one tax usually entails evasion of other taxes as well.
PTI
