{"id":342316,"date":"2025-02-26T10:00:48","date_gmt":"2025-02-26T04:30:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/?p=342316"},"modified":"2025-02-27T14:43:31","modified_gmt":"2025-02-27T09:13:31","slug":"wife-murder-principles-appreciation-testimony-child-witness-sc-legal-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2025\/02\/26\/wife-murder-principles-appreciation-testimony-child-witness-sc-legal-news\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Evidence Act does not prescribe any minimum age for a witness\u2019; SC elucidates principles on appreciation of testimony of a child witness"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Supreme Court:<\/span> While considering the instant appeal challenging the accused husband’s acquittal in the case concerning his wife’s death under mysterious circumstances 22 years ago (2003); the Division Bench of J.B. Pardiwala*<\/span> and Manoj Misra, JJ., upon perusing the facts of the case, found that the circumstances in the case constitute more than a prima facie case to enable the prosecution to invoke Section 106 of the Evidence Act and shift the burden on the accused husband to explain what had happened on the day & date his wife died. The Court opined that the prosecution duly established the foundational facts, thereby justifying the invocation of Section 106, Evidence Act. The Court while determining the matter, reiterated the foundational principles regarding testimony of a child witness and convictions based on circumstantial evidence. Hence, the accused husband’s acquittal was set aside and his conviction and sentence by the Trial Court was restored.<\/p>\n

The Court pointed out that if an offence takes place inside the four walls of a house and in such circumstances where the accused has all the opportunity to plan and commit the offence at the time and in the circumstances of its choice, it will be extremely difficult for the prosecution to lead direct evidence to establish the guilt of the accused. It is to resolve such a situation that Section 106 of the Evidence Act exists in the statute book.<\/p>\n

Background:<\/h3>\n

On the night of 15-7-2003, the complainant along with his father and relatives heard cries and screams of the deceased coming from the house of the accused. After some time, the screams of the deceased stopped. At about in the morning, they learnt from the other inhabitants of the village that the deceased had died during the night and that her body had been cremated.<\/p>\n

After the matter was investigated, a chargesheet was filed against the accused husband and his sister for commission of offences under Sections 302<\/a>, 201<\/a> read with Section 34<\/a> of the IPC<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Trial Court upon perusal of the evidence, circumstances and witnesses (including a child witness), found the accused husband guilty, convicting and sentencing him to undergo rigorous imprisonment for life with fine of Rs. 1,000 for the offence punishable under Section 302<\/a> IPC<\/a> and four years of rigorous imprisonment along with fine of Rs. 2,000 for the offence punishable under Section 201<\/a> of the IPC<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Aggrieved with the afore-stated decision of the Trial Court, the accused appealed before Madhya Pradesh High Court. The High Court via the impugned judgment of 2010, acquitted the accused and set aside the Trial Court’s order of conviction finding that the testimony of the child witness, (PW6), was unreliable and tutored.<\/p>\n

Appreciation of Testimony of a Child Witness:<\/h3>\n

Upon perusing the case, facts and evidence of the prosecution and reasoning of the High Court in acquitting the accused husband based on the ‘tutored testimony of the child-witness’, the Court deemed it fit to examine the principles on testimony of a child-witness:<\/p>\n