Current Affairs

Issue

A court has punished two police constables for burning alive an accused in police station based on the dying declaration of victim.

 

Details

• The law assumes that individual making a statement just before dying is true as making false statements before death is highly impossible.

• The case related to statements made by person who cannot be found or is dead is dealt under Section 32 of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872.

• There is a rule under section 60 hat says that oral the statement made should be direct. They should have been heard or perceived.

• There are two rules for admission of the dying declaration- firstly, he/she should be sole principal eyewitness and second, the statement should be made just before death. Impending death is considered as a form of oath.

• The court also allows signs, symbols and gestures made by a dying person as an evidence in a court of law.

 

Reasons for scrapping a dying declaration

• In dying declaration, there is no chance of cross examination of victim. The statement should be such that court should have full confidence in it.

• The court will also check if there was an attempt to manipulate the dying person to give false statement or it was a figment of imagination due to hallucination.

 

Recording dying declaration

• Anybody can record a dying statement. They must be convinced that the declaration is made in a fit state of mind and person should be conscious.

• The statement made in front of executive or judicial magistrate will have additional value for the prosecution.