Indian Penal Code, 1860, Section 302 -- Rape and murder - Girl aged 15-16 years - Body thrown into a well - Conviction based on circumstantial evidence - Identity of deceased established by superimposition report of FSL - Assistant Director certified that skull could have belonged to a person in the photograph - Identity of deceased had to be established by skeletal..........
Criminal trial -- Related witness - Relationship is not a factor to affect credibility of a witness - A relation would not conceal actual culprit and make allegations against an innocent person - Foundation has to be laid if plea of false implication is made and court has to adopt a careful approach and analyse evidence to find out whether it is cogent and credible...........
Criminal trial -- Interested witness - When a incident happens in a dwelling house or nearby the most natural witnesses would be the inmates of that house - Merely on surmises Court should not castigate a prosecution for not examining other persons of the locality as prosecution witnesses as prosecution can be expected to examine only those who have witnessed the events..........
Criminal trial -- Normal discrepancies and Material discrepancies - Normal discrepancies in evidence are those which are due to normal errors of observation, normal errors of memory due to lapse of time, due to mental disposition such as shock and horror at the time of occurrence and those are always there however honest and truthful a witness may be - Material..........
Criminal trial -- Related or interested witness - Evidence of such a witness not to be rejected merely because he is related to or interested in the parties on either side - If the presence of such a witness at the time of occurrence is proved or considered to be natural and the evidence tendered by such witness is found in the light of the surrounding circumstances and..........
Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985, Section 15, Criminal Procedure Code, 1973, Section 100, 165 -- Non joining of independent witnesses - Recovery of poppy husk on secret information - No witness from the locality joined - One witness joined from different village - Recovery doubtful for non compliance of S.100 Cr.P.C. - Conviction set aside...........
Evidence Act, 1872, Section 32 -- Dying declaration - Evidentiary value - (i) There is neither rule of law nor of prudence that dying declaration cannot be acted upon without corroboration; (ii) If the Court is satisfied that the dying declaration is true and voluntary it can base conviction on it, without corroboration; (iii) The Court has to scrutinize the dying..........
Disputed question of facts -- Housing construction - Allegation of deficiency in service on the part of contractor - Exhaustive evidence required to be recorded - Both the parties have to produce witnesses and have to cross examine each others witness - Opinion of handwriting expert also required - This can be done in the civil Court only - District Forum held rightly..........
Criminal trial -- Statement of witness recorded 10 days after occurrence despite his availability - Before giving statement to police, witness did not divulge incident to anybody in village - It is dangerous and immensely risky to act upon such evidence to sustain conviction...........
Prevention of Corruption Act, 1947, Section 5(2), 5(1)(d) -- Illegal gratification - Complainant and shadow witness improved their statements which they had earlier made at the time of investigation - Such witnesses are untrustworthy...........
