Extrajudicial confession weak evidence, says Supreme Court

New Delhi, April 16

Extrajudicial confession by its very nature is a “weak piece” of evidence and it may be used as a corroborative piece of evidence in tandem with substantive evidence, the Supreme Court said on Tuesday while acquitting a man who was convicted in a 1998 murder case.

Bhiwani connection

The appellant was accused of murdering a man at a cinema hall in Bhiwani in June 1998 as he bore a suspicion that the victim was involved in illicit relations with his wife

The apex court allowed an appeal filed by the man challenging the verdict of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, which had affirmed the trial court’s May 1999 order convicting and sentencing him to life imprisonment.

The prosecution alleged that the appellant had in June 1998 murdered a man at a cinema hall in Bhiwani as he bore a suspicion that the victim was involved in illicit relations with his wife.

A Bench of Justices BR Gavai and Sandeep Mehta noted that the prosecution’s case was primarily based on the testimonies of two witnesses—the victim’s brother and another person who claimed that the accused had made a confession before him.

The Bench said both these witnesses fell within the category of “wholly unreliable witnesses” and it would be unsafe to place reliance on their evidence so as to affirm the guilt of the accused.

Dealing with the purported extrajudicial confession made by accused to a witness, the Bench said it was contradicted by the evidence of a defence witness. The Bench noted that the incident had taken place around 11.30 am and the victim’s brother had admitted in his cross-examination that the body was lifted from spot at about 4 pm.