PANCHDEO SINGH Vs. STATE OF BIHAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Admissibility of a dying declaration has had judicial scrutiny for over five decades. Whereas the earlier view in Ramnath's case (Ramnath Madhoprasad and others vs. State of Madhya Pradesh, AIR 1953 SC 420) to the effect that it is not safe to convict an accused person merely on the evidence furnished by a dying declaration without further corroboration, a larger Bench judgment of this Court in Tarachand (Tarachand Damu Sutar vs. State of Maharashtra, AIR 1962 SC 130) categorically observed that conviction based on dying declaration, against the correctness of which no cogent reasons, have been given or suggested, is sustainable in law.

(2.) This Court, a decade later in Munnu Raja and another vs. State of Madhya Pradesh (AIR 1976 SC 2199) stated the law to the effect that though the dying declaration must be approached with caution for the reason that the maker of the statement cannot be subjected to cross-examination, there is neither a rule of law nor a rule of prudence which has hardened into a rule of law that a dying declaration cannot be acted upon unless it is corroborated. This Court went up to observe that the Court must not look out for corroboration unless it comes to the conclusion that a dying declaration suffered from any infirmity.

(3.) One of the latest pronouncement of this Court pertaining to the subject find place in the decision of Arvind Singh vs. State of Bihar JT 2001 (5) SC 127 wherein, this Court observed that apart from the care and caution factors as noticed earlier the dying declaration ought otherwise to be treated as trustworthy. The issue thus becomes as to whether the dying declaration has been able to bring about a confidence thereon or not - is it trutworthy or it is a mere attempt to cover up the latches of investigation; it must allure to the satisfaction of the Court that reliance ought to be placed thereon rather than a distrust. The confidence of the Court is the summum bonum and in the event of there being any affirmation thereto in the judicial mind, question of any disbelieve or distrust would not arise. In the event, however, of there being some infirmity, howsoever, negligible it be, the Court unless otherwise satisfied about the credibility thereof, ought to look for some corroboration, if however it is otherwise, question of requirement of a corroboration would not arise; dying declaration alluring confidence of the Court would be a sufficient piece of evidence to sustain conviction. There is no format as such of dying declaration neither the declaration need be of any longish nature and neatly structured. As a matter of fact, perfect wording and neatly structured dying declaration may bring about an adverse impression and create a suspicion in the mind of the Court since dying declarations need not be drawn with mathematical precision - the declarant should be able to recollect the situation resulting in the available state of affairs.