Analysis of Evidentiary Value of Eyewitness Statement: Law and Caselaw

The Author, Rachana Dhar is a 5th year student of BA.LLB at Indian Institute of Legal Studies (IILS), North Bengal University. She is currently interning with LatestLaws.com.

1. Introduction

 In the Criminal Justice System, statements of an eyewitness play an important role in ensuring justice. The principles of justice make the fundamentals of truth and impartiality a necessary consequence of justice. This in turn brings the importance of a third party to report the incidents of the crime. The quality of eyewitness statements is presumed to be true and impartial as they are made under an oath and by a third party who has no connection with the either parties. Therefore, the importance of the witnesses in a Criminal Justice System cannot be ignored. The admissibility of an eyewitness testimony has a long history in convicting and acquitting the accused. It is believed that eyewitnesses are directly connected to the crime and are present in the scene where the crimes have been committed.

2. Evidentiary value and the relevant provisions of the eyewitness statement in the court of law.

 As per the definition[1] of “Evidence” under The Indian Evidence Act, 1872, evidences are classified into two forms: Oral evidence (statements made by the witnesses) and Documentary evidence.  The definition of evidence proves that an eyewitness statement is highly valuable in the eye of law. The evidentiary value of an eyewitness statement can be understood with the help of the following provisions under The Indian Evidence Act, 1872. :

1. As per Section 118 of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872, every person  are competent under the law to testify unless they are not capable of giving the statements or understanding any question of the court for the reason of their tender age, extreme old age or any diseases. The section allows a statement of a lunatic person to be evidence in the court if he is capable of understanding the questions of the court. The statements of a child may also be considered as highly valuable evidence if they have the capable of understanding the questions.  It is to be noted that a credible and truthful eyewitness statement can plays an important role in the convictions.
2. Another provision that qualifies an eyewitness statement as highly valuable evidence as well as strengthens the status of such statements is Section 134 of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872. As per Section 134, no particular numbers of witnesses are required to prove a fact. The Act gives importance to the principle of quality than quantity. A conviction can also occur on the basis of the testimony of a sole witness.
3.  The evidentiary value of the eyewitness statement can be construed from the provision of Section 135 of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872. As per the Section, the order in which the witnesses are to be produced shall be regulated by law and the practice. The section further provides that the witness must be examined as per the civil and criminal procedure

Appreciation of evidence of eye witness:

The admissibility of the eyewitness statement depends on the facts and circumstances of the case.

1. When the statement of eyewitness brings out the accusation against the accused, certain minor variation and differences in the eyewitness testimony cannot corrode the prosecution version.
2. Not giving an exact and perfect report of the injuries by different person with different weapons would not weaken the evidentiary value of the eyewitness statements.
3. The statement of the eyewitness cannot be discarded on the ground of delay in reporting the incidents to the Investigating Officer.
4. If the witness had suffered injuries during the crime, his testimony cannot be discarded on the ground that he had an enemy disposition towards the accused.
5. The eyewitness statements should not hold much value if the witness is panic and scared due to the incidents happened in the crime scene.
6. If the eyewitness has observed a murder and the accused has thrown the body in the river at the time of the fog, the testimony of the eyewitness cannot be discarded on the ground that there was fog and the eyewitness might have failed to see the accused person.
7. The exaggeration of the evidence by the eyewitness does not make it completely unreliable in the court of law.
8. The minor contradictions in the statements of the eyewitness are needed to be ignored when such statements are recorded after a delay.

Court’s decision on evidentiary value of eyewitness.

In the landmark decision of Vikas Kumar Roorkewal v. State of Uttarkhand & Ors,[2] the Supreme Court held that eyewitnesses’ plays an important role in the Criminal Justice System and every legislative measure in connection of witnesses contributes to the fundamental principle of fair trial. Similarly in the case of Pratap Chauhan v. Ram Naik [3], it was held by the Hon’ble Supreme Court that an eyewitness statement cannot be ignored on the ground of false implications before checking the evidences with proper care and caution. The court further held that a testimony of eyewitness cannot be discarded on the ground of minor variations.

In cases of murder, eye witnesses are the most reliable witnesses in the eye of law. The credibility and the truthfulness of the eyewitness statement are not affected if the statement has led to the acquittal of one accused and conviction of others as held in the case of Krishna Ram v. State of Rajasthan.[4]  The Supreme Court in the case of Edward v. Inspector of Police held that the   statement of sole eyewitness reliable evidence even if it differs from the medical reports. [5] The testimony of the eyewitness cannot be discarded on the ground of absence of motive.

In cases where there is a relation between the witness and the deceased, it is the duty of the court to scrutinize the evidence with proper caution. In the case of State of Uttar Pradesh v. Jagdeo,[6] the court held that the testimony of the witness cannot be discarded on the ground that the witness is connected to the deceased if the evidence given by him is consistent and supported with other witnesses. Similarly in case of Bhagwan Singh and Others v. State of Uttar Pradesh,[7] it was held by the Hon’ble Court that the evidence of related witness cannot be discarded solely on the ground of being related to the victim.

In cases of child witness, there is no law which rejects such evidence if it is reliable. In the case of Algupandi v. State of Tamil Nadu,[8] it was held that a child is a competent witness if the statement of such witness is reliable, truthful and corroborated by other prosecution evidence.

The presumption that every person acts honestly applies to the police official as well. In the case of Ram Kumar v. State of Delhi,[9] it was held that any evidence of police official which is found reliable cannot be discarded on the ground that no independent witnesses has been examined by the prosecution. However, in the case of Karmjit Singh v. State (Delhi Administration),[10] it was held by the court that without corroboration of other independent witnesses, the testimony of police officials cannot be solely relied on.

Conclusion

The admissibility of the eyewitness statement is based on the presumption that the witness speaking under an oath is truthful unless it is proved beyond reasonable doubt that their testimonies are untruthful and unreliable. It is necessary to make a close observation while making the statement of the witness admissible. It is the duty of the court to examine whether or not the eyewitness was under any undue influence while giving the evidence; whether or not there has been any threat to the eyewitnesses etc. It is of utmost importance that the witnesses are not influenced in any manner so that witness can provide unbiased and truthful statement which would help in the delivery of fair judgment. However, in many cases, documentary evidences weakens the oral evidences as the eyewitness can often be misleading but the documentary evidences have lesser chances of  being inaccurate.

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