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Supreme Court sets aside murder conviction over child witness doubts
The Supreme Court on Thursday overturned the murder conviction of a man accused of killing his wife and child in Madhya Pradesh, ruling that the trial court's reliance on a child witness…
The Supreme Court on Thursday overturned the murder conviction of a man accused of killing his wife and child in Madhya Pradesh, ruling that the trial court's reliance on a child witness testimony was suspect. The bench of Justices Sanjay Karol and Augustine George Masih set aside the High Court judgment that had reversed the trial court's acquittal.
The prosecution had alleged the appellant murdered his wife and one child by strangulation during a trip from Kanpur to Khajuraho. The key witness was his surviving child, aged 4.5 years, but the child stated in court that the Station House Officer had tutored him. The Supreme Court noted the prosecution failed to prove guilt beyond reasonable doubt, and the chain of events remained incomplete. The Court held that while child witness testimony does not always need corroboration, it is a rule of prudence that was rightly applied by the trial court.
The appeal was allowed, and the appellant was acquitted of all charges and ordered to be released.
Indian Opinion Analysis
The Supreme Court's ruling reinforces the settled position that child witnesses of tender age are prone to tutoring and require independent corroboration. This principle, established in Bhagwan Singh v. State of M.P. (2003), protects against wrongful convictions based on unreliable testimony. The trial court had correctly insisted on corroboration, but the High Court interfered without sufficient justification. The case highlights the importance of preserving the trial court's findings on witness credibility, especially when the witness is a child. The next concrete step is the appellant's release from custody.
Source: livelaw.in
This story was synthesised by AI from the source linked above.
