Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Syllabus
•Unit I:
•Introduction to Law of Evidence:
•Purpose of the Law of Evidence, History of the Law of Evidence, The British Principles of Evidence , Salient Features of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872 , Kinds of Evidence.
•Unit II:
•Theory of Relevancy:
•Presumptions, Facts in Issue, Relevant Facts, Admissibility and Relevancy.
•Unit III:
•Facts, Relevancy (Section 6-16):
•Doctrine of Res Gestae, Proof of Conspiracy, Problems of Relevancy of Facts not Otherwise Relevant, Proof of Custom, Facts Concerning State of Mind and Body.
•Unit IV:
•Admissions and Confessions(Section 17-31):
•General Principles Concerning Admissions, Involuntary Confessions made by “Inducement, Threat or Promise, Confession made to Police Officer , ‘Custodial’ Confessions, Statements Leading to Discovery of Facts, Confession by Co-accused.
•Unit V:
•Statements by Persons who cannot be called as Witnesses:
•Persons who cannot be called as Witnesses, Dying Declaration, Other Statements, Statements made in Judicial Proceedings, Statements made under Special Circumstances.
•Unit VI:
•Relevancy of Judgments(Section 52-55):
•Relevance of Previous Judgments, Judgments as Conclusive Proof, Judgments When Irrelevant, Fraud or Collusion in Obtaining Judgment.
•Unit VII:
•Relevancy of Opinion and Character:
•Expert Evidence, Opinion in Other Cases when Relevant, Relevance of Character.
•Unit VIII:
•Oral and Documentary Evidence:
•Primary and Secondary Evidence, Circumstances under which the secondary evidence is allowed, Oral Evidence, Documentary Evidence, Public and Private Documents, Exclusion of Oral Evidence by Documentary Evidence, Rules for Interpretation or Construction of Documents.
•Unit IX:
•Presumptions(Section 79-88 and 111-A-114-A):
•Presumption as to Documents, Presumption as to Public Documents, Presumption as to Ancient Documents.
•Unit X:
•Burden of Proof and Onus of Proof (Section 101-114-A):
•Facts which need not be proved, Principles of Burden of Proof, Standard of Proof in Civil and Criminal Proceedings, Presumptions.
•Unit XI:
•Estoppel (Section 115-117)
•Doctrine of Estoppel , Classification of Estoppel , Estoppel, Res Judicata and Waiver, Promisory Estoppel and Equitable Estoppel.
•Unit XII:
•Competency and Compellability of Witnesses (Section 133, 114):
•Competency of Witnesses, Compellability of Witnesses (Privileged Communications), Accomplice Evidence, Hostile Witness.
•Unit XIII:
•Examination of Witnesses:
•Kinds of Examination of Witnesses, Cross-examination of Witnesses, Contradictory and Corroborative Evidence, Powers of Judges regarding Witnesses, Improper Admission and Rejection of Evidence, Leading Questions, when it can/can not be asked.
•
•Suggested Readings:
•1. Lal Batuk, The Law of Evidence, 13th Edition, Central Law Agency, Allahabad, 1998.
•2. Munir M., Principles and Digest of the Law of Evidence, 10th Edition (in 2 vols), Universal Book Agency, Allahabad, 1994.
•3. SaradhiVepa P., Law of Evidence, 4th Edn. Eastern Book Co., Lucknow, 1989.
•4. Singh Avtar, Principles of the Law of Evidence, 11th Edn. Central Law Publications.
•5. Chary V. Krishnama, The Law of Evidence, 4th Edn. S.Gogia& Company.
• 6. Woodroffe and Ali Amir, Law of Evidence, 20th Edition 4 Vol. Set,Lexis Nexis, 2017
• 7.Phipson, on evidence
• 8.Wigmore, on Evidence
Salient features of law of evidence in India
• Types of evidences
• Direct evidence – it is testimony of the witnesses as to the principal fact to be proved. It also includes production
of an original document. The fact of the marriage between certain person may be proved by producing the
wedding photograph.
• Circumstantial evidence-
• Real evidence
• Hearsay evidence
• Primary evidence
• Secondary evidence
• Oral evidence
• Documenatary evidence
• Conclusive evidence
• "Shall presume". -- Whenever it is directed by this Act that the Court shall presume a fact, it shall regard such fact as proved, unless and until it is disproved.
•
"Conclusive proof". -- When one fact is declared by this Act to be conclusive proof of another, the Court shall, on proof of the one fact, regard the other as proved, and
shall not allow evidence to be given for the purpose of disproving it.
•
1)Relevancy is based on logic and probability
• 2)The rules of relevancy are described from Section 5 to Section 55 of Evidence Act, 1872.
the accused, who expected of inheriting his childless Uncle’s property, was frustrated when the Uncle got married and had a child. The uncle was murdered and the accused
was found to be struggling to get the property transferred in his name. These facts were held to be relevant since they established a motive on part of the accused to murder
the deceased.
• Preparation:
• Preparation is an inchoate Act. It means an arrangement, measures or design necessary for commission of a crime or certain thing. Preparation by itself is not a crime except
preparation to wage war against the Government of India, preparation to commit dacoity and sedition
example of preparation - the sharpening of knife before an affray in which the knife was used is relavant.
again - it is relavant to show that the accused hired or bought a revolver a few days before the murder.
• Majority opinion – held that section 8 is not applicable . To attract section 8 the conduct must be influenced
directly by fact in issue /relavant facts and not by the imposition of words spoken by third person.
• The fact that, at the time when he left home, he had sudden and urgent business at the place to which he
went, is relevant, as tending to explain the fact that he left home suddenly.
Section 10
• Things said or done by conspirator in reference to common design:
• Where there is reasonable ground to believe that two or more persons have conspired together to commit an offence or an actionable wrong, anything said, done or written by any one of such
persons in reference to their common intention, after the time when such intention was first entertained by any one of them, is a relevant fact as against each of the persons believed to so conspiring,
as well for the purpose of proving the existence of the conspiracy as for the purpose of showing that any such person was a party to it.
• Illustration:
• Reasonable ground exists for believing that A has joined in a conspiracy to wage war against the Government of India.
• The facts that В procured arms in Europe for the purpose of the conspiracy, С collected money in Calcutta for a like object, D persuaded persons to join the conspiracy in Bombay, E published writings
advocating the object in view at Agra, and F transmitted from Delhi to G at Kabul the money which С had collected at Calcutta, and the contents of a letter written by H giving an account of the
conspiracy, are each relevant, both to prove the existence of the conspiracy, and to prove A’s complicity in it, although he may have been ignorant of all of them, and although the persons by whom
they were done were strangers to him, and although they may have taken place before he joined the conspiracy or after he left it.
• A criminal Conspiracy is the agreement of two or more persons to do an illegal act, to do a legal act by illegal means. In other words, A joint evil intent is necessary to constitute crimes. Criminal
Conspiracy is a partnership in crime, and each conspiracy consists of a joint and mutual agency for a prosecution of a common plan. A conspiracy being an agreement, it necessarily follows that there
must be at least two persons. One person alone can not conspire.
Section 120(A) of the Indian penal code 1860 defines 'criminal conspiracy' and Section 10 of the Indian Evidence Act 1872 says that things said or done by conspirator in reference to common
design.
•
1-There must be reasonable ground to believe that two or more persons have entered into consipiracy.
• 2-The act in question must have been done after the time when the intention to conspire was first entertained by any of them
• 3-The act must have been done in reference to their common intention.
• Keher singh v state (delhi admn. AIR 1988) – SC considered a mere act of two people isolating themselves
at the house top and subsequentely avoiding questions about the content of their conversation as enough
reason to believe that they were conspiring about some thing.
• Mirza Akbar was tried along with the actual murderer Umar Sher, and with Mst. Mehr Taja who had been
the wife of the murdered man, Ali Askar. The guilt of Umar Sher was not really open to doubt. He was
practically caught red-handed. He was caught running away with a single barrel shot gun in his hand, the
barrel of which smelt as if freshly discharged. There was an empty cartridge jammed in the barrel. When
the appellant came up from the field in which he had been working about half a mile away from the scene
of the murder he asserted that Umar Sher was innocent and should be released. Umar Sher's main
defence seems to have been absence of motive.
Section -11 (Alibi)
• When facts not otherwise relevant become relevant.—
• Facts not otherwise relevant are relevant—
• (1) if they are inconsistent with any fact in issue or relevant fact;
• (2) if by themselves or in connection with other facts they make the existence or non-existence of any fact in issue or relevant fact highly
probable or improbable.
• Illustrations(a) The question is, whether A committed a crime at Calcutta on a certain day. The fact that, on that day, A was at Lahore is
relevant.
• The fact that, near the time when the crime was committed, A was at a distance from the place where it was committed, which would
render it highly improbable, though not impossible, that he committed it, is relevant.
• (b) The question is, whether A committed a crime.
• The circumstances are such that the crime must have been committed either by A, B, C or D, every fact which shows that the crime could
have been committed by no one else and that it was not committed by either B, C or D, is relevant.
• Sec 11 is residuary section – facts which are not relevant under sect 6 to 10 and 12 to 55 are relevant under section 11.
Sec 11 is controlled by sec 32 – section 11 of evidence act is not what a deceased person chose to predicate about a thing,but that he
mentioned it at all whether he predicated of it were true or false, then and then only it is a case outside the section 32
Full Bench decision of the Kerala High Court in C. Narayanan vs. State of Kerala 1992 Cr. LJ 2868, Thomas J (as he then was) observed on a
review of the case law. “There is nothing in sec. 11 of the Act to suggest that it is controlled by any other section.
1-Facts- inconsistent with any fact in issue or relevant fact
• The question is, whether A committed a crime at Calcutta on a certain day. The fact that, on that day, A was at Lahore is relevant as they
cannot coexist.
• A is illiterate is a fact ,similarly A wrote a defamatory article damaging the fame of B , is another fact . Now these two facts are
inconsistent with each other.
• There are generally 5 classes of cases that arise for consideration under this clause
• (A) ALIBI - The Latin word ‘Alibi’ actually means ‘elsewhere’. The given terminology is put to use when the accused takes the
appeal that when the incident took place, he was at some other place.
• (B)NO CONNECTION OF HUSBAND TO DEMONSTRATE THE ILLEGITIMACY OF THE CHILD:( NO ACCESS OF HUSBAND TO
SHOW ILLEGITIMACY OF ISSUE)
• Since the legitimacy of the child indicates a cohabitation between husband and wife. For proving false the validity, the
husband has to prove that he had no cohabitation with his wife during the probable time of begetting as he was abroad.
• (C) SURVIVAL OF THE ALLEGED DECEASED:
• Assuming that ‘A’ is accused of murdering ‘В’ on 20th August 1996 in Delhi. But ‘A’ tried to explain and led evidence to show
that ‘В’ was alive on 27th December 2004. Both of these facts are admissible under section 11 only because these are not
consistent with one another.
• (D) THE OCCURRENCE OF AN OFFENCE BY A THIRD PERSON:
• Assuming that ‘A’ is accused of the murder of ‘B’. ‘A’ leads clues for confirmation that ‘В’ was murdered by ‘C’. This is
justifiable being contradictory with fact in issue.
• (E) SELF-INFLICTION OF HARM:
• Assuming that ‘A’ is accused of the murder of ‘B’. ‘A’ can lead evidence under 11 (1) to prove that ‘В’ had committed suicide.
The evidence would be considered as admissible.
• Munshi prasad and other Vs state of Bihar AIR 2001 – the presence of the accused at a distance of 400-500 (in panchayat
meeting) yards between place of occurrence cannot be said to be presence elsewhere.
• Fact showing highly probable –
• Kalu mirza vs emperor (1909) 37 Cal.91 – where a person is charged with cheating ,evidence
can be given of the fact that he belonged to an organization of habitual cheats as this would
make it highly probable that he committed the crime.
• Baij lal vs Ram pratap AIR 1982 - a person a part of his land to one buyer and subsequently the
other part to another buyer. Both buyer struggling to against each other for identification of their
respective area. The court held that the deed first in time should prevail. That made it highly
probable that only the remaining area was sold to other.
• In order to prove intention-the fact of Accused previously attempted to shoot down the deceased.
•
In order to prove knowledge- The facts that the dog had previously bitten other persons and they had complained of it ,for this would
clearly prove that he had knowledge of ferocious tendency of his
• In order to prove ill will - The fact of previous publications by A respecting B, showing ill- will on the part of A towards В is relevant, as
proving A’s intention to harm B’s reputation by the particular publication in question.
• In order to prove good faith - A is accused of the dishonest misappropriation of property which he had found, and the question is whether,
when he appropriated it, he believed in good faith that the real owner could not be found
2) It says that an admission will be relevant only if it is made by any of the person specified in the Act.
• 1. Judicial Admission:
• The judicial or formal admission is addressed to the court and is the part of the proceeding. It is made on the record in the file of the court
• Judicial admission are subject matters of the Civil Procedure Code and the Code of Criminal Procedure. The procedures have been laid
down in civil suits in Order 12, Rule 2; Order 8, Rules 3,4 and 5; Order 10, Rule 1; Order 11, Rule 8; Order 12, Rule 4 and Order 14, Rule 3 of
the Civil Procedure Code.
• In Code of Criminal Procedure there are provisions, viz. Sections 143, 251(5), 255(2), 263(g) and 271.
• Bishwanath Prasad v Dwarka Prasad (1974)1 SCC 78- supreme court opined that“admissions, if true and clear, are by far the best proof of
the fact admitted. It is also held that an admission in an earliar suit is a relevant evidence against the plaintiff.
• 2. Extra-judicial Admissions:
• The extra-judicial or informal admission is statement of fact made by the party previously in course of life or business which is inconsistent
with the facts to be established at the trial. The extrajudicial admissions are called evidential admissions.
• Admission by conduct:
• Admissions by conduct are not included in this section. It has been dealt with under section 8 of this Act. But in some circumstances the
conduct, active or passive, becomes evidence for an admission. For example a woman went to the school for registration of her child, but
she did not enter the name of the father and his profession. On asking she kept silence. Her silence may mean that she does not know the
name of the father or she is not interested to disclose it. Whatever view is taken it may be an admission for illegitimacy of the child.
• Who can make admissions (Section 18 ,19, 20) -
•
An Admission is relevant if it is made by:
3) A party suing or being sued in a representative character making admission while holding such
character.
4) A person who has a proprietary or pecuniary interest in the subject matter of the suit during the
continuance of such interest.
• 5) Person from whom the parties to the suit have derived their interest in the subject matter of the
suit during the continuance of such interst (Predecessors –in-title).sec.18
• 6)Person whose position and liability it is necessary to prove as against any party to the suit. sec. 19
• 7) person to whom a party to the suit has expressly refferred for information in reference to a
matter in dispute. Sec. 20
• Admission • Confession
• If a statement is made by a party in civil
If a statement made by a party charged with crime, in criminal
proceeding it will be called as admission proceeding, it is called as a confession
• Maxim- Interest rei publicae ut finis litium – it is in the interest of state that there should be an end of litigation.
• communication Without Prejudice- means – I am making you an offer ,which you may or may not accept ,but ,if you do not
accept it , my having made it is to have no effect at all.
• Or I make you an offer and if you do not accept it ,this letter is not to be used against me.
• The main intention behind this section is to encourage parties to settle their difference amicably by protecting their interest
and privilege and to avoid unnecessary litigation. It is a protective rule which provides an opportunity to parties to settle their
dispute without prejudice against the right of other one and to buy peace. Lord Mansfield has detected “all men must be
permitted to buy their peace, without prejudice to them, should the offer not succeed, such offer being made to stop litigation,
without regard to the question whether anything is due or not”. The provision is founded on public policy that the interest of
the State is required a finish to litigation
•
field vs commisonner of railways
• Confession”
• The word “confession” appears for the first time in Section 24 of the Indian Evidence Act. This section comes under the
heading of Admission so it is clear that the confessions are merely one species of admission. Confession is not defined in the
Act. Mr. Justice Stephen in his Digest of the law of Evidence defines confession as “confession is an admission made at any time
by a person charged with a crime stating or suggesting the inference that he committed that crime.”
In the case of Palvinder Kaur v State of Punjab( AIR 1952) the Supreme Court approved the Privy Council decision in Pakala
Narayan Swami case over two scores.
Firstly, that the definition if confession is that it must either admit the guilt in terms or admit substantially all the facts which
constitute the offence. Secondly, that a mixed up statement which even though contains some confessional statement will still
lead to acquittal, is no confession. Thus, a statement that contains self-exculpatory matter which if true would negate the
matter or offence, cannot amount to confession.
•
Supreme court takes notice of developments in english law
Nishi Kant Jha v State of Bihar(AIR 1959) the Supreme Court pointed out that there was nothing wrong or relying on a part of
the confessional statement and rejecting the rest, and for this purpose, the Court drew support from English authorities. When
there is enough evidence to reject the exculpatory part of the accused person’s statements, the Court may rely on the
inculpatory part.
• Forms of confession
A confession may occur in many forms. When it is made to the court itself then it will be called judicial confession
• and when it is made to anybody outside the court, in that case it will be called extra-judicial confession.
• It may even consist of conversation to oneself, which may be produced in evidence if overheard by another.
• Sahoo v. State of U.P.(AIR 1966) the accused who was charged with the murder of his daughter-in-law with whom he was always
quarreling was seen on the day of the murder going out of the house, saying words to the effect : “I have finished her and with
her the daily quarrels.” The statement was held to be a confession relevant in evidence, for it is not necessary for the relevancy of
a confession that it should be communicated to some other person.
• Judicial confession- Are those which are made before a magistrate or in court in the due course of legal proceedings. A judicial
confession has been defined to mean “plea of guilty on arrangement (made before a court) if made freely by a person in a fit state
of mind.
• Extra-judicial confessions- Are those which are made by the accused elsewhere than before a magistrate or in court. It is not
necessary that the statements should have been addressed to any definite individual. It may have taken place in the form of a
prayer. It may be a confession to a private person. An extra-judicial confession has been defined to mean “ a free and voluntary
confession of guilt by a person accused of a crime in the course of conversation with persons other than judge or magistrate
seized of the charge against himself. A man after the commission of a crime may write a letter to his relation or friend expressing
his sorrow over the matter. This may amount to confession. Extra-judicial confession can be accepted and can be the basis of a
conviction if it passes the test of credibility. Extra-judicial confession is generally made before private person which includes even
judicial officer in his private capacity. It also includes a magistrate not empowered to record confessions under section 164 of the
Cr.P.C. or a magistrate so empowered but receiving the confession at a stage when section 164 does not apply.
Judicial confession Extra-judicial confession
• • 1- Extra-judicial confession are those
1. Judicial confessions are those which are which are made to any person other than
made to a judicial magistrate under section those authorized by law to take
164 of Cr.P.C. or before the court during confession. It may be made to any person
committal proceeding or during trial. or to police during investigation of an
offence.
• 2-To prove judicial confession the person to • 2- Extra-judicial confession are proved by
whom judicial confession is made need not calling the person as witness before whom
be called as witness. the extra-judicial confession is made.
• 3- Extra-judicial confession alone cannot
• 3-Judicial confession can be relied as proof of be relied it needs support of other
guilt against the accused person if it appears supporting evidence.
to the court to be voluntary and true • 4-it is unsafe to base conviction on extra-
• 4-A conviction may be based on judicial judicial confession.
confession.
• Section 24 of Indian Evidence Act - confession caused by inducement, threat or promise, when irrelevant in
criminal proceeding- A confession made by an accused person is irrelevant in a criminal proceeding, if the
making of the confession appears to the court to have been caused by any inducement, threat or promise
having reference to the charge against the accused person, proceeding from a person in authority and
sufficient, in the opinion of the court, to give the accused person grounds, which would appear to him
reasonable, for supporting that by making it he would gain any advantage or avoid any evil of temporal
nature in reference to the proceeding against him.
• Ingredients of Section 24
To attract the prohibition enacted in Section 24 the following facts must be established:
• That the statement in question is a confession,
• That such confession has been made by the accused,
• That it has been made to a person in authority,
• That the confession has been obtained by reason of any inducement, threat or promise, proceeding from
a person in authority,
• Such inducement, threat or promise must have reference to the charge against the accused, and
• The inducement, threat or promise must in the opinion of the court be sufficient to give the accused
ground, which would appear to him reasonable, for supporting that by making it he would gain any
advantage or avoid any evil of a temporal nature in reference to the proceedings against him.
• EVIDENTIARY VALUE OF CONFESSION
A confession is substantive evidence against its maker, so that it has been duly
recorded and suffers from no legal infirmity, it would suffice to convict the
accused who made the confession, though as a matter of prudence, the Court expects some
corroboration before acting upon it. Even then slight
corroboration would suffice. But before acting upon a confession, the Court
• 25. Confession to police officer not to be proved.—No confession made to a
police officer shall be proved as against a person accused of any offence.—
• The reason for this rule is stated in queen Empress vs Babu lal (1884) ILR- if
confession to police were allowed to be proved in evidence ,the police would
torture the accused and thus force him to confess the crime which he might not
have committed .
• Sita ram vs state (AIR 1966)– the accused left a letter recording his confession
near the dead body of the victim with the avowed object that it should be
discovered by the police. The supreme court held that confession is relevent as it
is not a confession made to police officer.
• Retracted confession - when a person having once recorded a confession which is
relevant goes back upon it ,saying either that he never confessed or that he
wrongly confessed or confessed under pressure,that is called retracted
confession.
• piyre lal vs state of rajasthan (AIR 1963)
• Confession Of An Accused In Polilice Custody To Any One Else-
Section 26 provides that a confession which is made in custody of a police officer cannot be
proved against him. Unless it is made before a magistrate.
In Kishore Chand v. State of Himachal Pradesh, the extra judicial confession was made to
Pradhan who was accompanied by Police (enquiry) Officer. The only interference which could
be drawn from the circumstance of the case, is that the confession was made at the time
when the accused was in the custody of police and it could not be proved against the
accused. It could not be believed that, when a police officer has seen the accused with
deceased at last occasion, he will not take the accused in the custody.
In the case it is evident that the Police Officer has created a scene and to avoid Section 25
and 26, the Police Officer has left the accused in the custody of village head man (pradhan).
The Police Officer in this case has no difficulty to take the accused to the Judicial Magistrate
and to take extra-judicial confession under section 164 of Cr.P.C which has got more probable
value and it gives an opportunity to make the required warning, that this confession will be
used against the accused and after this warning he records the confession. Under section 26,
no confession made by an accused to any person while in custody of a police officer shall be
proved against him
• section 27- How Much Of Information Received From Accused May Be Proved:
• Section 29 of Evidence Act: Confession otherwise relevant not to become irrelevant
because of promise of secrecy, etc:
'If such a confession is otherwise relevant it does not become irrelevant merely
because it was made under a promise of secrecy, or in consequence of a deception
practiced on the accused person for the purpose of obtaining it, or when he was
drunk or because it was made in answer to questions he need not have answered,
whatever may have been the form of those questions, or because he was not warned
that he was not bound to make such confession, and that evidence of it might be
given against him.'
In criminal cases, the public interest lies in prosecuting criminals and not
compromising with them. Therefore, where an accused person is persuaded to
confess by assuring him of secrecy of his statements or that evidence of it shall not
be given against him, the confession is nevertheless relevant.
.
• 30. Consideration of proved confession affecting person making it and others jointly under trial for same offence
• When more persons than one are being tried jointly for the same offence, and a confession made by one of such persons
affecting himself and some other of such persons is proved, the Court may take into consideration such confession as
against such other person as well as against the person makes such confession.
• Illustrations
(a) A and B are jointly tried for the murder of C. It is proved that A said ––“B and I murdered C”. The Court may consider
the effect of this confession as against B.
(b) A is on his trial for the murder of C. There is evidence to show that C was murdered by A and B, and that B said –– “A
and I murdered C”.
This statement may not be taken into consideration by the Court against A, as B is not being jointly tried.
•
When more than one person is jointly tried , for one and same offence or offences they are called co –accused . Any one
of them is liberty to confess to his own guilt and confession will have the full force of evidence against him .
• But when he records a confession implicating himself as well his other co –accused ,that is called the confession of a co-
accused.
• Now question arises what is value against the other non confessing co- accused.
• Sec 30 provides that confession is relevant against all the accused person
• In the case of Kashmira Singh v. State of MP[1952 SCR 526), the accused Kashmira, Gurudayal who was
the brother of Kashmira, Prithipal son of Gurudayal and one Gurubachan, a rickshaw puller in this case
was being jointly accused of conspiracy and killing a child. The Supreme Court in this case issued some
conditions which needed to be fulfilled before taking into consideration the confession of one of the
accused against all others.
• Joint trial: The person who is making a confession and the other accused persons are being tried jointly.
• Same offence: All the accused are being tried for the same offence.
• Confessions: The confession must affect the confessioners as well as the other accused persons.
• 30 of the Indian Evidence Act is in the nature of empowering the Court to take into consideration a
confession made by one of the accused against the others when they are jointly tried. On one hand the
confession, if it is voluntary and is considered true and admissible by the court, of an accused is a very
strong piece of evidence against himself, however on the other hand it is a weak piece of evidence
against other co-accused.
• Acquittal of confessing co accused-
• Prakash dhawal v state of maharastra AIR 2002- the confessional statement of the accused was
recorded by the magistrate under sec 164 ,Cr.P.C. And both the accused jointly tried .thus ,the
requirement of section 30 is satisfied .The evidence became relevant and did not cease to be so
because of the acquittal.
• 32- Cases in which statement of relevant fact by person who is dead or cannot be found, etc .,
is relevant. —Statements, written or verbal, of relevant facts made by a person who is dead,
or who cannot be found, or who has become incapable of giving evidence, or whose
attendance cannot be procured without an amount of delay or expense which, under the
circumstances of the case, appears to the Court unreasonable, are themselves relevant facts
in the following cases
• 1- when it relates to cause of death. —When the statement is made by a person as to the
cause of his death, or as to any of the circumstances of the transaction which resulted in his
death, in cases in which the cause of that person's death comes into question. Such
statements are relevant whether the person who made them was or was not, at the time
when they were made, under expectation of death, and whatever may be the nature of the
proceeding in which the cause of his death comes into question.
• 2 -or is made in course of business , 3- or against interest of maker.
• 4- or gives opinion as to public right or custom, or matters of general interest.
• 5- or relates to existence of relationship. 6- or is made in will or deed relating to family
affairs . 7- or in document relating to transaction mentioned in section 13, clause (a) 8- or is
made by several persons, and expresses feelings relevant to matter in question.
• Dying declaration – means the statement of a person who has died
explaining the cause or circumstance of his death.
• NEMO MORITURUS PRESUMUNTUR MENTRI – no one when about to die
is presumed to lie . Truth sits upon the lips of dying man.
• Section 30 is a salutary provision of law and has helped in securing
conviction in dowray death cases.
• Dying declaration are admissible because
• 1 – death of declarant
• 2- Necessity- the victim being generally the only eyewitness to the crime.
• 3- sense of impending death – declation are made in extremity when the
party at the point of death , every hope of this world is gone, when every
motive to falsehood is silenced and mind induced to speak the truth.
• Proximate cause
• The statement made as dying declaration must
have a proximate relationship with the actual
occurrence and not remote as observed by the
privy council in the case of Narain
Swami v. Emperor. The statement of a person
should be regarding the cause of death or
circumstances leading to the death of the person
and it should be made by the deceased person.
Distinction between english law and indian law