Civil Litigation — Evidence & Procedure
Can a Witness Give Evidence by Video Link in a Pakistani Civil Case?
If you live abroad, are seriously unwell, or cannot travel to the court where your civil suit is pending, the question is a practical one: must you appear in person to give evidence, or can the court record your testimony over a video link? The Supreme Court of Pakistan answered this directly in 2022, and the judgment has been followed since. This guide explains what the Court decided, the test it laid down, the safeguards a judge applies, and what it means if you are the witness who cannot attend.
Order XVIII Rule 4, CPC
Article 164, Qanun-e-Shahadat
The Judgment That Settled the Question
The significance of the decision is that it did not wait for new legislation. The Court held that the existing statutory framework, properly interpreted, already permits video link evidence in civil proceedings.
The Three Provisions That Make It Work
Order XVIII Rule 4, CPC
Requires that the evidence of witnesses in attendance be taken orally in open court, in the presence and under the personal direction and superintendence of the judge. The question was whether “attendance” means physical attendance only.
Section 151, CPC
Preserves the inherent power of a civil court to make such orders as may be necessary for the ends of justice or to prevent abuse of its process. This is the provision under which the order for virtual attendance is actually made.
Article 164, Qanun-e-Shahadat Order
Permits a court, in such cases as it considers appropriate, to allow production of any evidence that has become available because of modern devices or techniques. This is what admits the resulting testimony.
How the Court Reasoned
The reasoning is worth understanding, because it explains why the outcome is durable rather than a one-off indulgence.
The Court applied what is known as updating construction — reading a statute in light of present social reality rather than freezing its meaning at the moment of enactment. On this approach, the question is not what the drafters in 1908 pictured, but what purpose the rule serves and whether the proposed reading fulfils or defeats it.
So the Court asked what Rule 4 is actually for. Its purpose is that evidence be recorded (i) in open court, and (ii) under the personal superintendence of the judge — the policy being that a witness gives evidence freely, according to conscience, without being under another person’s influence.
Measured against that purpose, video conferencing holds up. The judge and those present can see and hear the witness, and the witness can see and hear them. The evidence is still recorded under the judge’s personal superintendence. On that basis the Court concluded that virtual attendance is a species of the genus of “attendance” required by the Rule.
The Two-Part Test a Court Applies
This is the part that matters most in practice. The powers under Section 151 CPC and Article 164 QSO are discretionary, and the Court was explicit that they must be exercised judiciously and for stated reasons — not automatically on the filing of an application.
The Court drew that “unreasonable delay, expense or inconvenience” standard from existing legislative choices — Articles 46, 47 and 71 of the Qanun-e-Shahadat Order use delay and expense as grounds for relaxing certain evidentiary rules, while Sections 503 and 512 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898 add inconvenience.
A Punjab-Specific Requirement Worth Knowing
Section 151 CPC as it applies in Punjab includes wording requiring the inherent power to be exercised after recording reasons in writing. That phrase was inserted by amendment to the extent of the province of Punjab and does not form part of the federal text.
Practically, an order made in a Punjab civil court should carry recorded written reasons. This matters if the order is later challenged, and it is a point that is easy to overlook when relying on the general federal provision.
The Safeguards a Judge Applies On Screen
Video link evidence is not a relaxation of the court’s control over the witness. The judgment set out how a judge maintains the same assurance on screen as in the room.
The Court was candid about the limit of this: a court can protect a witness from immediate influence, not from covert influence — and that is equally true whether the witness is in the courtroom or on a screen. The safeguard is not weaker in the virtual setting; it is the same safeguard with the same inherent boundary.
Who This Matters Most For
Overseas Pakistanis
A party or witness living in the UK, USA, Canada, Europe or the Gulf with a property, inheritance or contractual suit pending in Pakistan, for whom travelling to attend a hearing means international travel, leave from work and substantial cost.
Elderly or Seriously Unwell Witnesses
Where travel to the court is genuinely difficult or medically inadvisable, and the alternative is that essential evidence is never recorded at all.
Witnesses in Another City
Domestic distance can also produce unreasonable delay, expense or inconvenience, particularly for a witness who would need repeated appearances.
Where Attendance Is Being Used Tactically
The Court described rejecting an unjustifiable insistence on physical attendance as preventing abuse of the process — relevant where an opposing party is using the attendance requirement to exhaust or delay.
The Court’s Warning on Cross-Examination
The judgment also addressed a related practice: prolonged cross-examination used not to test the evidence but to wear the witness down until they make an error — questioning designed for the manufacture of error rather than the disclosure of truth.
The Court’s position was that the right of cross-examination is neither unlimited nor unbridled, and that a judge faced with this should not remain a silent spectator but should intervene and disallow questions that are irrelevant, or intended to prolong proceedings, scandalise, insult or annoy the witness.
What the Judgment Does Not Mean
It Is Not an Automatic Right
The power is discretionary. A party must apply, satisfy both limbs of the test, and persuade the court on the facts of the case.
It Does Not Lower the Evidentiary Standard
Evidence recorded by video link is ordinary evidence, subject to the same examination, cross-examination and assessment as evidence given in the room.
It Does Not Remove the Judge’s Control
Identity verification, confirmation of free will and control of the room remain the judge’s responsibility, and the Court set out how each is maintained.
It Does Not Answer Every Situation
The judgment concerned civil proceedings. Criminal proceedings involve separate provisions and considerations, and should not be assumed to follow automatically.
How the Precedent Has Been Applied Since
The decision has not remained theoretical. It has been reported as PLD 2023 SC 211 and cited in subsequent High Court proceedings dealing with the recording of evidence through modern means — including before the Islamabad High Court, where it was relied upon alongside other authority on modern and scientific evidence.
For a litigant, the practical significance is that this is settled, citable Supreme Court authority rather than a novel argument that has to be built from first principles.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a witness living abroad give evidence in a Pakistani civil case without travelling?
It is possible. Following Meera Shafi v. Ali Zafar (PLD 2023 SC 211), a civil court may permit a witness to attend virtually by video conferencing. The court must be satisfied that the evidence is essential to a just decision and that requiring physical attendance would cause unreasonable delay, expense or inconvenience.
Which law allows video link evidence in Pakistan?
Three provisions read together: Order XVIII Rule 4 CPC, whose requirement of “attendance” the Supreme Court held includes virtual attendance; Section 151 CPC, the inherent power under which the order is made; and Article 164 of the Qanun-e-Shahadat Order, 1984, which permits evidence available through modern devices or techniques.
Is video link evidence a right, or does the court decide?
The court decides. The powers are discretionary and must be exercised judiciously for valid reasons on the circumstances of the case, not automatically because an application has been filed.
What must an application establish?
Two things: that the evidence of the witness appears essential to the just decision of the case, and that requiring physical attendance would incur unreasonable delay, expense or inconvenience. Both should be supported by the specific facts — distance, cost, medical condition, age, immigration position or security.
How does the judge confirm the witness is not being coached on screen?
By questioning the witness about free will, requiring a full view of the room to confirm nobody else is present, and verifying identity where it is disputed. The Court acknowledged that protection extends to immediate influence rather than covert influence — a limitation that applies equally to a witness physically present in court.
Can documents be put to a witness appearing by video link?
Yes. The witness can be confronted on screen with documents produced or sought to be produced in court, and scanned copies can be transmitted to the witness where that is necessary.
Does this apply to criminal cases as well?
The judgment concerned civil proceedings. Criminal proceedings are governed by separate provisions and considerations, and the position there should not be assumed to follow automatically from this decision.
Does the court have to give written reasons for allowing it?
Section 151 CPC as applicable in Punjab includes wording requiring the inherent power to be exercised after recording reasons in writing. That phrase was added by amendment to the extent of Punjab and does not appear in the federal text, so the position depends on where the suit is pending.
Overseas and Unable to Attend Your Hearing?
PK-Legal and Associates represents clients in civil suits across Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Lahore and Karachi, including overseas Pakistanis who cannot travel for hearings. Tell us where your case is pending and why attendance is difficult, and we will advise on the appropriate application.
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