Gujarat High Court Criminal Manual (subordinate court practice), 1977
Section 297, Criminal Procedure Code, 1973, provides for supplying the copies of police reports, first information report, statements recorded under Section 161, Criminal Procedure Code of all the persons whom the prosecution proposes to examine as witnesses excluding some part of the statement as provided under that Section, confessions and statements under Section 164, Criminal Procedure Code, 1973 and any other document or relevant extract thereof on which the prosecution wants to rely. Similarly disclosing copies of the statements recorded under Section 200 or under Sections 202 of the Code, of statements and confessions and of the documents produced before the Magistrate on which the prosecution proposes to rely. The Magistrate should invariably satisfy himself, when the accused appears or is brought before him at commencement of the committal proceedings or trial that the copies of the documents referred to in Section 297 or Section 208 of the Code, as the case may be, are furnished to the accused. If he finds that the accused is not furnished with such copies, he should cause them to be furnished immediately; and if this is not possible, within such time not exceeding one week as the Magistrate may allow. The next date of hearing should be fixed so as to allow sufficient time to the accused to study the copies supplied to him and to prepare his defence. An entry should be made in the Rozanama by the Magistrate about the action taken by him for supplying the copies to the accused.