All types of Witnesses in Indian Evidence Act are mentioned and exlained in short.

1. By Samyak Vora
TYPES OF WITNESSES

2. Various types of witnesses are :
 Prosecution Witness
 Defense Witness
 Expert Witness
 Eye Witness
 Hostile Witness
 Child Witness
 Dumb Witness
 Chance Witness
 Accomplice Witness
 Identification Witness
 Interested Witness

3. Prosecution Witness
A witness for the prosecution is a witness who is
brought into the court in order to provide
testimony which supports the prosecution’s
overall case or would produce some form of
statement which helps to push the jury in favor of
the prosecution’s argument.

4. Defense Witness
• A witness summoned on the request of the defending party
is known as a Defense Witness.
• A defendant's denial of the truth of the allegations or charge
against him is Defense.
• The proceedings by a defendant or accused party or his
legal agents for defending himself are Defense side.

5. Expert Witness
An expert witness, professional witness or judicial
expert is a witness, who by virtue of education,
training, skill, or experience, is believed to have
expertise and specialised knowledge in a particular
subject beyond that of the average person, sufficient
that others may officially and legally rely upon the
witness's specialized (scientific, technical or other)
opinion about an evidence .

6. Eye Witness
An individual who was present during an event and is called
by a party in a lawsuit to testify as to what he or she
observed.
An eye witness must be competent (legally fit) and qualified
to testify in court.

7. Hostile Witness
A hostile witness may be defined as one who from the
manner in which he gives evidence (within which is included
the fact that he is willing to go back upon previous
statements made by him),shows that he is not desirous of
telling the truth to the court where therefore one comes
across a witness of this description.

8. Child Witness
Sec.118
1. The witness understands the questions, and
2. Ascertain in the best way it can, whether from the extent of
his intellectual capacity and understanding he is able to give
a rational account of what he has seen, heard or done on a
particular occasion.

9. Dumb Witness
A witness who is unable to speak may give his
evidence in any other manner in which he can
make it intelligible, as by writing or by signs, but
such writing must be written and the signs
made in open Court, Evidence so given shall be
deemed to be oral evidence.

10. Chance Witness
“If by coincidence or chance a person happens to be at
place occurrence at the time it is taking place, he is
called a chance witness.”

11. Accomplice Witness
A witness to a crime who, either as principal,
Accomplice, or Accessory, was connected with the
crime by unlawful act or omission on his or her part,
transpiring either before, at time of, or after commission
of the offense, and whether or not he or she was
present and participated in the crime.

12. Identification Witness
In eyewitness identification, evidence is received from a
witness "who has actually seen an event and can so
testify in court”. It is also called as Eye Witness.

13. Interested Witness
Interested witness is one who is interested in securing
conviction of a person out of vengeance or enmity or A
witness in a trial who has a personal interest in the
outcome of the matter at hand.