Attendance of witnesses

(1) A Panchayat may by summons send for any person to appear and give evidence or to cause the production of any document: Provided that— (a) the law relating to the summoning and personal appearance of witnesses shall apply; (b) the Panchayat shall not summon a witness already issued against if in its opinion the attendance of the witness cannot be procured without an amount of delay, expense or inconvenience which in the circumstances would be unreasonable; (c) a Panchayat shall not require any person living beyond its jurisdiction to give evidence or to produce a document unless such a sum of money be paid to him as appears to the Panchayat to be sufficient to defray his reasonable expenses; (d) no woman shall be compelled to appear as a witness in person before a Panchayat. She may be examined on commission in the manner prescribed; and (e) if a document is produced in obedience to a summons issued under this section the Panchayat shall cause the document to be copied, mark the copy after comparing with the original to be a true copy and return the original document to the person producing the same. (2) If any person, whom the Panchayat summons by written order to appear or give evidence or to produce any document before it, wilfully fails to obey such summons the Panchayat may take cognizance of such disobedience and after giving such person an opportunity to explain may, on conviction, sentence him to a fine not exceeding twenty-five rupees.