Short answer. Generally no, if the distance is great enough. Under Rule 21, Section 10, the compulsory measures in Sections 8 and 9 of the Rule do not apply to a witness who resides more than one hundred kilometers from the place where he or she is to testify, by the ordinary course of travel.
What the law says
shall not apply to a witness who resides more than one hundred kilometers from his or her residence to the place where he or she is to testify by the ordinary course of travel
Rule 21, Section 10 — Exceptions. Read the full provision →
The one-hundred-kilometer line
Rule 21, Section 10 carves distant witnesses out of the Rule's coercive machinery. Its protection covers a witness who resides more than one hundred kilometers from his or her residence to the place where he or she is to testify by the ordinary course of travel. Two details matter. The measure runs from your residence — where you actually live, not where you work or where the subpoena caught up with you. And it is taken by the ordinary course of travel, meaning the route a person would normally take, not a straight line on a map. A witness on the far side of that line is beyond the Rule's power to compel.
What the exception switches off
The section states that the provisions of Sections 8 and 9 of this Rule shall not apply to such a witness. Those are the Rule's teeth — the provisions under which a witness who fails to appear can have attendance compelled and be dealt with for disobedience. For the distant witness, those consequences are off the table: the failure to make a journey of more than a hundred kilometers is not treated as defiance. Note what the exception does not do — it does not erase the case, the subpoena, or the parties' interest in your testimony. It removes the compulsion, nothing more.
The other exception: detention prisoners
The same section shields a second class of witness: a detention prisoner if no permission of the court in which his or her case is pending was obtained. A person held in detention cannot simply be marched to another courtroom by subpoena; the court in charge of the prisoner's own case must first give its permission. If none was obtained, the compulsory provisions likewise do not apply. The two limbs share one idea — a subpoena's coercive force has practical and jurisdictional limits, and the Rule marks them expressly rather than leaving the witness to argue hardship.
Before you simply stay home
Do the arithmetic honestly before relying on the exception: settle where your residence is, identify the place of testimony, and reckon the distance by the route ordinarily travelled. If the true figure hovers near the line, the safer course is to raise the matter rather than gamble on it — inform the court or the party who caused the subpoena, in writing, of your distance and grounds. Keep the subpoena and proof of how it was served. And remember the exception is a shield, not a bar: you may still choose to testify voluntarily, and parties who genuinely need your evidence may find other lawful ways to take it where you are.