The Chhattisgarh High Court has recently affirmed the conviction of a man in a murder case, reiterating that the testimony of a child witness can serve as a valid basis for conviction in serious crimes like murder, as long as the child demonstrates the intellectual capacity to understand questions and provide rational answers.
The Division Bench comprising of Justice Goutam Bhaduri and Justice Sanjay Kumar Jaiswal emphasized that Section 118 of the Evidence Act establishes the competency of all individuals to testify, unless they are unable to comprehend the questions or provide rational answers due to tender age, old age, or disease.
Brief Facts:
The case under consideration involved an appeal against the judgment passed by the Sessions Judge, which had found the accused guilty under Section 302 of the IPC (Indian Penal Code) and sentenced him to life imprisonment, along with a fine of Rs. 1,000/-. The incident occurred in 2019 when the accused attacked the victim with an axe in a forest, resulting in his death. Two witnesses, who were children, were present at the scene and testified to the incident. The appellant argued that the conviction was solely based on the statements of these child witnesses and that their competence to testify had not been properly assessed.
Observations by the Court:
Upon examining the facts and circumstances, the High Court acknowledged that the cause of death was deemed to be homicidal according to the doctor's report, which indicated that the deceased had died approximately 24 hours before the autopsy due to massive bleeding from the wounds. The prosecution presented two child witnesses, aged seven and fourteen, whose intellect had been assessed by the Court to ascertain their ability to provide reliable testimony.
The Court highlighted that the trial court had already questioned the child witnesses to determine their competence and subsequently recorded their statements. After comparing their statements with the evidence and considering the absence of any signs of exaggeration or coaching, the Court concluded that the child witnesses' testimony was credible and corroborated by medical evidence, including the postmortem report. Consequently, the Court dismissed the appeal and declined to interfere with the trial court's decision.
Decision of the Court:
The appeal was dismissed.
Case Title: Sukhiram Nishad v. State of Chhattisgarh
Coram: Justice Goutam Bhaduri and Justice Sanjay Kumar Jaiswal
Case No.: CRA No. 78 of 2020
Advocates of the Appellant: Mr. K.P. Sahu, Advocate
Advocates of the Respondent: Mr. Vikram Sharma, Deputy Govt. Advocate
Read Judgement @LatestLaws.com
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