The division judge bench of the Jharkhand High Court held that evidence of a child witness must be evaluated more carefully and with great circumspection because a child is susceptible to being swayed by what others tell and that the child witness is easy prey to tutoring.
Brief facts
The factual matrix of the case is that the informant is the mother of the deceased. It was alleged that a few days before the incident, Beena Singh had gone away after picking a fight with the deceased along with her children. Beena Singh had an illicit relationship with Vikram Singh. The deceased had gone to the house of Vikram Singh to bring back his wife and children but she refused to come and Krishna Singh, his son Vikram Singh, his mother and Beena Singh conjointly assaulted him, resulting in his death. The FIR was registered and the charge sheet was filed under Section 302/34 of the IPC. Accused- Krishna Singh and Arpana Singh were acquitted of the charges and the appellants were convicted by the trial court. Aggrieved by this, the present appeal is filed.
Contentions of the Appellant
The Appellant contended that the trial court relied upon the testimony of the child witness. It was furthermore contended that Child witnesses are prone to being tutored, and her account has significant discrepancies, making it untrustworthy. She could very well have received training from her grandmother as she was living and produced by her before the Court for evidence.
Contentions of the State
The state contended that the dead body was found in the house of Vikram Singh and Krishna Singh. It was furthermore contended that a child witness has given a cogent account of incidence which remains undemolished in the cross-examination.
Observations of the court
The Hon’ble Court observed that evidence from a child witness needs to be assessed more cautiously and carefully because children are often influenced by what other people tell and because they are easy targets for tutoring.
The court furthermore observed that like any other piece of evidence, the testimony of a minor witness must be evaluated in light of the case's context, the usual course of human behavior, and any potential reason for false inference. Any evidence must be evaluated in light of the case's underlying facts and circumstances in order to be regarded in a whole and lead to the truth.
The court noted that accused no. 1 didn’t give any probable reasoning for the homicidal death of the deceased in his house, nor did any explanation come from A-2 who was also present with her husband at the relevant time. This corroborates the testimony of the child witness that the appellants were the author of crime.
The court furthermore noted that the child witness is only testifying against her mother. A child will not testify against her mother unless there is some truth to it, in accordance with human nature. Just because she lived with her grandmother and was taken to court by her does not mean that her testimony may be disregarded.
Based on these considerations, the court affirmed the judgment of conviction and sentence.
The decision of the court
With the above direction, the court dismissed the criminal appeal.
Case Title: Vikram Singh V. The State of Jharkhand
Coram: Hon’ble Mr. Justice Ananda Sen and Hon’ble Mr. Justice Gautam Kumar Choudhary
Case No.: Criminal Appeal (D.B.) No. 285 of 2017
Advocates for the Appellant: Mr. Mahesh Tewari, Advocate, Mr. A.K. Kashyap, Sr. Advocate Ms. Leena Shakti, Advocate
Advocate for the State: Mr. Sanjay Kumar Srivastava, A.P.P
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