(1)Where it appears to a Magistrate that a person able to give material evidence for the prosecution or defence concerning any offence is so dangerously ill that it is not practicable to take his evidence according to the usual course of law, any Magistrate may take the deposition of that person provided that reasonable notice has been given to the prosecutor and the accused of his intention to take it and of when and where he intends to take it.
Section history
Section 294 — Procedure when prospective witness is ill
As in force on 2 January 2020.
Timeline 3 versions
- 2 January 2011 Enacted
- 2 January 2020 You are here
- 31 December 2021 Revised edition
- 17 August 2026 Latest
(2)If the accused is in custody, a Judge or a Magistrate may order the officer in charge of the prison to, and the officer must, take the accused to the place and at the time notified.
(3)Where it is proved at the trial of the accused that the deponent is dead, or that he cannot attend for any sufficient reason, the deposition may be read even though the accused was absent when it was taken if the court trying the case is satisfied that —
(a)the deponent was at the time of his examination so dangerously ill as mentioned in subsection (1);
(b)the deposition was duly taken at the place and time notified; and
(c)reasonable notice of the intention to take it was given to the person against whom it is tendered in evidence so that he or his advocate might have been present and might have had, if he had chosen to be present, full opportunity of cross-examination.