Supreme Court stresses importance of witness testimony in dowry death cases

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court has said that the testimony of witnesses in dowry death cases should not be ignored on the grounds of personal interest. A bench comprising justices Dipankar Dutta and SVN Bhatti observed the statement of the victim's family members.

A woman facing dowry harassment is likely to open up to her immediate family members. Therefore, the Supreme Court pointed out that the statement of the family members is crucial to bring the criminals to justice. The court also expressed doubt that if their testimony was judged to be biased, other credible testimony would be obtained. Observations in a case in Karnataka ordered that the accused husband in the dowry death case should attend trial again.