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By Nur Ahadiyyah binti Shahrun Nizam (1721116)

 “Ali killed me…” DYING
DECLARATION

The Victim
The Accused
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 ● the statement is made by the person as the cause of his death,
or as any of the circumstances of the transaction which

Section 32 resulted in his loss of life, in cases in which the cause of that
person’s death comes into question.
(1) of ● Such statements made by the person are relevant whether the

Indian person who made them was alive or was not, at the time when
they were made, under the expectation of death, and whatever

Evidence may be the nature of the proceeding in which the cause of his
death comes into question.
Act
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 ● when the statement is made by a person as to the cause of his
Section death, or as to any of the circumstances of the transaction
which resulted in his death, in cases in which the cause of
32 (1) (a) that person’s death comes into question.

● Such a statement is relevant whether the person who made it

of was or was not at the time when it was made under
expectation of death, and whatever may be the nature of the
Malaysia proceeding in which the cause of his death comes into
question.

n
Evidence
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Act 1950
 How about in Common Law?
● Rajindra Kumar v. State
○ Under English law, the essentials of a dying declarations are:-
i. The declarant should have been in actual danger of death at the time when they
were made the dying declaration.
ii. He should have a full apprehension of his death is near.
iii. Death should have ensued.
○ Only admissible in criminal case, and that only in the prosecution for murder of the
deceased.
○ In Section 32 (1) of Indian Evidence Act and Section 32 (1) (a) of Malaysian Evidence
Act, it is not required for a declarant to be in expectation of actual death .
○ Moreover, dying declaration can be considered as relevance evidence in both criminal
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and civil proceedings, whenever the cause of his or her death comes into question.
 Requirements of dying declaration
According to section 32 clause (1) of 2. The statement must be as:-
Indian Evidence Act:- a. To the cause of his death
b. To the circumstances of transaction which
1. The statement made by the deceased resulted in his death.
may be oral or written. But in some
cases it can be made with sign and
gesture depends on the condition of
the deceased.
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 “ “Nemo moriturns proesumitur
mentiri”
“No man who is imminently going into the presence of his Maker, will do
so with a lie on his lips”
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 Does it require corroboration?
Dying declaration does not require However, the fitness of the declarant should be
any corroboration as long as it
examined!
creates confidence in the mind of the
Court and free from any form of
At the time of giving a declaration, the person who’s making the statement must be
tutoring.
in a fit state of mind. If the court has the slightest doubt about the mental
soundness of the maker of dying declaration, it is unsafe and unfair for the base on
Uka Ram v. State of Rajasthan - “when
such a statement.
the maker of the statement is at his bed
end, every hope of this world is gone; and
In case Dhanraj and other v. State of Maharashtra, The dying declaration was
every motive of falsehood is silenced and
challenged on the ground that no medical certificate was attached to the condition
mind induced to speak only truth. Indian
of the deceased. However, the deceased went to the hospital all alone by changing
law recognises this fact that “a dying man
different vehicle in the way. The statement of doctor and magistrate was on record
seldom lies”.
to indicate that the deceased was in a fit state of mind to give a statement. Such
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circumstances can be used as supporting evidence about the mental condition of

the deceased.
 What if the statement is not relevant to the cause of the
death?
● When the dying declaration made by the deceased is not coupled with the transaction of consequences which results in the
death of the deceased or the statement made regarding the fact which has no nexus or connection with it or in other words
having no remote reference to the death of the deceased, it would not be admissible under Indian evidence act.
● It same goes to apply in Malaysian evidence law.
○ Yeo Hock Cheng v. R - two statements made by the deceased were discussed. First, when the deceased made a
statement to her father denying that she had slept at the accused’s house for fear of being killed by the accused.
Secondly, the statement she made to her sister informing that she was going out with the accused and that he had told
her to wear men's clothing.
○ The court rejected the first statement as being immaterial to the facts in issue and did not fall within the scope of “any of
the circumstances of the transaction which resulted in her death”. This was regarded as too remote.
○ the second statement was admissible in evidence on the ground that the arrangement made by the appellant for the
deceased to go out with him and to wear men's’ clothing, presumably to avoid recognition, was a circumstance of the
transaction which resulted in the deceased’s death.
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 Exception of Dying Declaration
1. If there is no question for consideration about the cause of death of the deceased.

2. The declarant must be competent to give a dying declaration, if the declaration is made by the child then the
statement will not be admissible in court as it was observed in case of Amar Singh v. State of M.P that without
the proof of mental fitness and physical fitness the statement would not be considered reliable.
3. The statement which is inconsistent has no value and can not be considered as evidentiary in nature.
4. The statement made by the deceased should be free from any influential pressure and should be made
spontaneous.
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 Common Issue in
India:
Dying Declaration
in Dowry Death
In 2019, reported dowry death cases in India
amounted to more than 7.1 thousand. This was a
gradual decrease from the 2014, in which this
number was approximately 8.5 thousand.
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 Recent case: Ayesha suicide case
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 An overview on Dying Declaration in
Dowry death cases
● the legal aspect of bride burning and highlight the concept of dying declaration play a
major role in dowry death cases where the deceased victim gives statement about the
incident and the statement considered by the court as dying declaration in evidence.

● The judicial interpretation has been given by Supreme Court under Section 32(1) of
Indian Evidence Act has also been discussed through case laws in which the court rely on
the consistent dying declaration made by deceased wife in bride burning cases
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 In Conclusion...
● Dying Declaration considered by Courts as an important piece of evidence who guides the
courts in extracting the truth.
● The admissibility of dying declaration is an exception to hearsay evidence and the accused
can be convicted by the courts on such dying declaration if the declaration found to be true
and reliable without any further corroboration.
● The various judgments given by Supreme Court made it clear that the statement made by
declarant at the time of his death inspires full confidence and not subject to cross-
examination but it should not be tutored and the declarant should be in conscious as well
as in fit state of mind.
● Now, Courts in India have evolved the caution principle in analyzing the dying declaration
and if the statement found reliable then conviction can be based on such dying declaration
● The admissibility of dying declaration in Indian and Malaysian evidence law are almost
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the same as it is, both law are in Section 32 of Evidence Act.

THANK YOU
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