new delhi, Oct. 1 -- The Supreme Court has held that an accused cannot only inspect documents seized during investigation but not relied upon by the prosecution, but can also have specific documents brought before witnesses during the trial if they are relevant to the defence, settling a contentious procedural issue that has surfaced in several high-profile criminal cases. A bench of justices JB Pardiwala and K Vinod Chandran said that an accused is entitled to documents available with the prosecuting agency to shape his defence, while clarifying that the stage at which particular documents can be sought would depend on the nature and relevance of the material. The ruling came in a case arising from an alleged conspiracy between 2010 and 2014 to award consultancy work for permanent campus of Central University of Jharkhand, Ranchi, on basis of allegedly fake documents, causing a loss of nearly Rs.1.92 crore. The CBI had challenged orders directing it to produce several documents sought by accused Anil Dixit under Section 91 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, including documents seized during investigation but not relied upon in the chargesheet. While the accused had sought copies of a large volume of such material, the CBI told the Supreme Court that the unrelied documents were voluminous and offered inspection instead. SC accepted this approach, but made it clear that inspection would not be the end of the matter. "The accused could examine such documents and seek for production of specific document required at appropriate time, when the appropriate witness is being examined either by prosecution or defence," it held. The court directed CBI to keep the files ready when trial takes place. Alternatively, the agency could allow the accused or an authorised representative to identify particular documents required during inspection. Those documents would have to be recorded in writing, signed by both sides and produced before the trial court without delay. The ruling therefore creates a practical bridge between the accused's right to inspect unrelied material and its eventual use in the trial. A document need not have been relied upon by the prosecution at the charge sheet stage to become relevant to the defence later. Once identified during inspection, the accused can seek its production when the relevant prosecution witness enters the witness box, or use it while leading defence evidence. The bench also dealt with documents CBI claimed were not in its possession. In one instance, the accused said minutes of various building committee meetings, which had not been relied upon by prosecution, would help establish his innocence. The court said if such documents were available in the records open to inspection, the accused could seek their production in accordance with procedure laid down by it. If they were not with CBI, the accused could procure and prove them in defence, including via RTI or by examining an appropriate witness....