Jayde Higham, 26, was charged with four offences relating to the incident at a Delacombe house which occurred about 12pm on December 10.

It is alleged Higham and another man assaulted the victim, aged in his 20s, before one of the men stabbed him in the chest, causing a serious injury.

The Ballarat Magistrates' Court was told on Thursday the stabbing victim had made a second statement to police identifying the person who stabbed him as Timothy Cakebread.

Mr Cakebread has not been charged, according to the Office of Public Prosecutions, and they were unable to tell the court if he had been interviewed.

The prosecutor said the OPP could only seek to withdraw three of Higham's four charges, including intentionally causing serious injury, intentionally causing injury and unlawful assault with a knife.

The fourth charge, common law assault, would proceed. Defence lawyer Andrew Madden said this charge should be withdrawn because the victim did not describe any action of Higham in his second statement.

"The victim is at odds with his first statement and it raises doubts over Mr Higham's involvement," Mr Madden said.

"There is a lot of conflicting evidence in relation to other witness statements."

In the victim's first statement, he describes seeing Higham with a fishing knife in his hand while in his second statement, he says he can now identify the man who stabbed him as Mr Cakebread.

The court was told a female witness made a statement to police saying she saw Higham with a knife in his hand.

Magistrate Noreen Toohey said she was reluctant to withdraw Higham's charges until she knew what investigations were being undertaken in relation to Mr Cakebread.

"It's a most unusual position where the Crown is ignoring a witness who puts a knife in the hands of Mr Higham," Ms Toohey said.

The prosecutor said it was a forensic decision to seek to withdraw the charges.

Higham was arrested on December 11, the day after the incident, and was remanded in custody where he remains.

The Courier reported after the incident police arrived at the Sutton Street address and found a man aged in his 20s with stab wounds. He was taken to the Ballarat Base Hospital.

Higham, of Lake Gardens, was remanded until May 20.

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