No rigid yardstick on dying declaration: SC

‘Much depends on facts’

“A dying declaration is admissible as evidence. It alone can also form the basis for conviction if it has been made voluntarily and inspires confidence….Much depends on the facts of a case.” Supreme Court

New Delhi, March 27

The Supreme Court has said there can be “no rigid standard or yardstick” for acceptance or rejection of dying declaration, which alone can form the basis for conviction if it has been made voluntarily and inspires confidence.

The apex court observed that if there were contradictions that create doubts about the truthfulness of the dying declaration then the benefit of doubt should be given to the accused.

A Bench of Justices Navin Sinha and Krishna Murari said this in its verdict while dismissing an appeal challenging the August 2011 judgment of the Delhi High Court upholding a trial court order acquitting two persons accused of subjecting a woman to cruelty and murdering her.

“A dying declaration is admissible as evidence under Section 32 of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872. It alone can also form the basis for conviction if it has been made voluntarily and inspires confidence,” the top court said in its March 25 verdict.

“If there are contradictions, variations, creating doubts about its truthfulness, affecting its veracity and credibility, or if the dying declaration is suspect, or the accused is able to create a doubt not only with regard to the dying declaration, but also with regard to the nature and manner of death, the benefit of doubt shall have to be given to the accused,” it said.

The court further said, “Therefore, much shall depend on the facts of a case. There can be no rigid standard or yardstick for acceptance or rejection of a dying declaration.” The plea in the apex court was filed by a man who had challenged the acquittal of his deceased sister’s husband and sister-in-law in a case lodged in 1991.

The woman had suffered 95 per cent burn injuries in her matrimonial home on September 17, 1991, and succumbed in a hospital the next day. — PTI