A company document containing particulars of directors and secretaries will now be admitted into evidence in the trial of former deputy prime minister Professor Biman Prasad.
Magistrate Yogesh Prasad delivered his ruling after defence lawyer Richard Naidu objected to the document on hearsay grounds.
The defence argued the document should be excluded because it had not been produced by its maker, who would therefore not be available for cross-examination.
Mr Naidu submitted that the document raised issues of credibility, reliability and truthfulness and should not be admitted.
The prosecution argued the document was a statutory form lodged with the Registrar of Companies and formed part of the public records maintained under the relevant companies legislation.
The prosecution submitted that the information was required by law to be provided in a prescribed form and was available for public inspection.
In considering the objection, the magistrate referred to the common law rule against hearsay, noting that hearsay is generally inadmissible when evidence is being used to establish the truth of the contents of a statement.
However, he noted that there are recognised exceptions to the hearsay rule.
The magistrate referred to authorities concerning public and business records and found that the company document fell within an exception to the hearsay rule.
He said the form was lodged by a company’s representative and accepted into the register by the Registrar of Companies after the statutory requirements had been met.
The defence objection was accordingly dismissed.
