other Special Tribunal or any other criminal court not being a High Court
Procedure of Special Tribunals. 15. (1) A Special Tribunal may take cognizance of offences without the accused being committed to it for trial.
(2) Save in cases of trials of offences punishable with a death or imprisonment for life or imprisonment for the term which may extend to five years or more, it shall not be necessary in any trial for a Special Tribunal to take down the evidence at length in writing but the Special Tribunal shall cause a memorandum of the substance of what each witness deposes, to be taken down, and such memorandum shall be signed by a member of the Special Tribunal and shall form part of the record.
(3) A Special Tribunal shall not be bound to adjourn any trial for any purpose unless such adjournment is, in its opinion, necessary in the interests of justice.
(4) A Special Tribunal shall not, merely by reason of a change in its members, be bound to recall and to re-hear any witness who hasgiven evidence, and it may act on the evidence already recorded by or produced before it.
(5) After an accused person has once appeared before it, a Special Tribunal may try him in his absence if, in its opinion, his absence has been brought about by the accused himself for the purpose of impeding the course of justice, or if the behaviour of the accused in court has been such as, in the opinion of the Special Tribunal, to impede the course of justice.
(6) In the event of any difference of opinion among the members of a Special Tribunal, the opinion of the majority shall prevail.
(7) The State Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, make rules providing for—
- (i) the times and places at which Special Tribunals may sit; and
- (ii) the procedure to be adopted in the event of any member of a Special Tribunal being prevented from attending throughout the trial of any accused person.
(8) A Special Tribunal shall, in all matters in respect to which no procedure has been prescribed by this Act or by rules made thereunder, follow the procedure prescribed by the Code for the trial of warrant cases by Magistrates.
Exclusion of public from proceedings of Special Tribunals.
16. In addition, and without prejudice, to any powers which a Special Tribunal may possess by virtue of any law for the time being in force to order the exclusion of the public from any proceedings, if at any stage in the course of a trial of any person before a Special