Can rely on evidence given by child: Apex court
March 21st, 2011 - 9:28 pm ICT by IANSNew Delhi, March 21 (IANS) The courts can rely on evidence tendered by a child if it inspires its confidence and there was no embellishment or improvement in it, the Supreme Court has said.
“The law on the issue (child’s evidence) can be summarised to the effect that the deposition of a child witness may require corroboration, but in case his deposition inspires confidence of the court and there is no embellishment or improvement therein, the court may rely on his evidence,” said the apex court bench of Justice P. Sathasivam and Justice B.S. Chauhan in an order Friday.
Justice Chauhan said: “The evidence of a child must be evaluated more carefully with greater circumspection because he is susceptible to tutoring.”
The court said this while setting aside a Madhya Pradesh High Court verdict of 2004 and restoring a session court’s 1996 decision sentencing a man and a woman to life imprisonment for conspiring and killing her husband. The trial court relied on the evidence given by the victim’s eight-year-old daughter.
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Tags: apex, apex court, child witness, circumspection, confidence, court bench, court verdict, deposition, embellishment, life imprisonment, madhya pradesh, man and a woman, march 21, New Delhi, supreme court, trial court