It is for the prosecution to decide whether to give up any of the prosecution witnesses, who were initially proposed to be examined. As an accused, you should rather feel happy, generally. Less number of prosecution witnesses would generally imply less evidence against you.
If any prosecution witness is dropped by the prosecution side, you can call such witness as your defence witness, if you feel such witness is going to help you.
If a person makes a false statement before the court, he can be held liable for the offence of perjury. But, giving a false statement during investigation can at best be covered under Section 182 of the IPC, which is a non-cognizable offence and which is very difficult to prove, given that Section 161 Cr.P.C. cannot be signed.
Signed statement of a witness is not permissible under Section 161 of the Criminal Procedure Code. Instead of the signed statement having more weight than an unsigned statement, the signed statement may in fact be invalid since it is not permissible under Section 161 Cr.P.C.
Dr. Ashok Dhamija is a New Delhi based Supreme Court Advocate and author of law books. Read more about him by clicking here. List of his Forum Replies. List of his other articles. List of his Quora Answers. List of his YouTube Videos.
.