Law of Evidence

Introduction Any good criminal trial would involve jurors. However, at times when a victim decides to testify against the accused in court, their lives, or the lives of their relatives are at risk. A witness can be a person present at the scene of a crime, an observer who knows about a crime, or even an accomplice. The identity of such witnesses must be secured otherwise they can become violent or be physically harmed. Witness security is particularly important in the war against crime. In reality, when serious and organised crimes are concerned, criminals and their associates frequently try to stop the witness from disclosing some kind of information. The State must take adequate steps to shield witnesses in order to ensure the protection of their lives and discourage them from bei...

The appalling gang rape of a nineteen year old Dalit girl sparked an outrage in the populace of the nation. On September 22nd, a week before she succumbed to her injury, informed the magistrate in Aligarh that four men (Ravi Singh, Sandip Singh, Lavkush Singh and Ramu Singh) had physically assaulted and raped her on September 14th.[1] The question in issue, in the present case and for the purpose of this essay is to determine the position of a dying declaration vis-a-vis the facts of this harrowing incident. Section 32 of the Indian Evidence Act, talks about those statements as 'relevant fact', under certain specified circumstances which are made by the person who is dead, or made by someone who cannot be found, or has become incapable of providing evidence or by someone who cannot att...