NEW DELHI: “The dying statements of a murder victim cannot be placed as the sole evidence for conviction of the accused, this applies only in cases where suspicion looms regarding statements.” The crucial order from the Supreme Court came while acquitting an accused who was earlier found guilty of murdering three in UP. The man was earlier sentenced to death.
According to the case, in 2014, Irfan was accused of setting his house on fire and killing his son and two brothers to death. SC warned Courts to exercise caution when relying on dying declarations. In this case, the dying statements of the two victims and the eyewitness accounts were contradictory.
“If there arise any doubt about the truthfulness of the dying statement, it should be considered only as part of the evidence” clarified a bench consisting of Justices B R Gavai, J B Pardiwala, and Prashant Kumar Mishra.
Irafn was earlier charged with the murder of his son Islamuddin and his brothers Irshad and Naushad. His son and brother Irshad pointed fingers at Irfan for the crime before their death. Based on this, the trial court awarded Irfan the death sentence. The Allahabad High Court upheld the sentence. Then the defendant was forced to approach the Supreme Court as the last resort of hope.
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