134. Judicial notice.—A court-martial may take judicial notice of any matter within the general military knowledge of the members.
135. Summoning witnesses.—(1) The convening officer, the presiding officer of a court-martial, the judge advocate or tho commanding officer of the accused person may, by summons under bis hand, require the attendance, at a time and place to be mentioned in the summons, of any person either to give evidence or to produce any document or other thing.
(2) In the case of a witness amenable to military authority, the summons shall be sent to his commanding officer, and such officer shall serve it upon him accordingly.
(3) In the case of any other witness, the summons shall be sent to the magistrate Within whose jurisdiction he may be or reside, and such magistrate shall give effect to the summons as if the, witness were required in the court of such magistrate.
(4) When a witness is required to produce any particular document or other thing in his possession or power, the summons shall describe it with reasonable precision.
136. Documents exempted from production.—(1) Nothing in section 135 shall be deemed to affect tho operation of sections 123 and 124 of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872 (I of 1872), or to apply to any letter, postcard, telegram or other document in the custody of the postal or telegraph authorities.
(2) It any document in such custody is, in tho opinion of any district magistrate, chief presidency magistrate, High Court or Court of Session, wanted for the purpose of any court-martial, such magistrate or Court may require the postal or telegraph authorities, as the case may be, to deliver such document to such person as such magistrate or Court may direct.
(3) If any such document is, in the opinion of any other magistrate or of any commissioner of police or district superintendent of police, wanted for any such purpose, he may require the postal or telegraph authorities, as the case may be, to cause search to be made for and to detain such document pending the orders of any such district magistrate, chief presidency magistrate or High Court or Court of Session.
137. Commissions for examination of witnesses.—(1) Whenever, in the course of a trial by court-martial, it appears to the court that the examination of a witness is necessary for the ends of justice, and that the attendance of such witness cannot be procured without an amount of delay, expense or inconvenience which, in tho circumstances of the case, would be unreasonable, such court may address the Judge Advocate General in order that a commission to take the evidence of such witness may be issued.
(2) The Judge Advocate General may then, if he thinks necessary, issue a commission to any district magistrate or magistrate of the first class, within the local limits of whose jurisdiction such witness resides, to take the evidence of such witness.
(3) The magistrate or officer to whom the commission is issued, or, if he is the district magistrate, he or such magistrate of. the first class as ho appoints in this behalf, shall proceed to tho place where the witness is or shall summon the witness before him and shall take down his evidence in the same manner, and may for this purpose exercise the same powers, as in trials of warrant-cases under the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898 (Act V of 1898), or any corresponding law in force in a Part B State.
