THE ADMISSIBILITY OF DYING DECLARATION IN THE EVIDENCE ACT

AUTHOR – DR. NAVIN KUMAR, ASSISTANT PROFESSOR AT BHARAT COLLEGE OF LAW, KURUKSHETRA, INDIA

BEST CITATION – DR. NAVIN KUMAR, THE ADMISSIBILITY OF DYING DECLARATION IN THE EVIDENCE ACT, INDIAN JOURNAL OF LEGAL REVIEW (IJLR), 4 (2) OF 2024, PG. 1247-1252, APIS – 3920 – 0001 & ISSN – 2583-2344.

Abstract:

The Indian Evidence Act is based on three principles: direct evidence must be given, evidence must be confined to the facts in issue, and hearsay evidence must not be admitted in a suit or proceeding before the court. Under ordinary circumstances, hearsay is generally inadmissible in accordance with a fundamental tenet of evidence law due to its lack of reliability and directness. The evidence provided is subpar and lacks the formality of being offered under oath. Moreover, the delicate nature of hearsay evidence often leads to prolonged trial durations as its validity and reliability require thorough examination and validation. Therefore, it is a general principle that oral testimony must always be direct, and hearsay information is not considered evidence. However, exceptions to this rule, such as Res Gestae and Dying Declaration, exist to accommodate specific circumstances where the standard principles may not apply. When a statement is made by a person as to the cause of his death or as to any of the circumstances of the transaction that resulted in death, the cause of that person’s death comes into question. Such statements are relevant whether the person who made them was or was not, at the time when they were made, under expectation of death. The underlying principle for admitting this type of evidence is that it consists of declarations made in a state of extreme urgency where the individual is expecting death and has lost all hope in this world. At such a moment, every reason to lie ceases to exist, and the mind is compelled by the greatest justifications to speak the truth. There is no legal principle stating that a dying statement should not be acted upon unless it is supported by additional evidence. However, it is often deemed unsafe to convict an accused solely based on it. In this paper the researcher will discuss the relevancy of dying declaration and the evidentiary value of it in court proceeding.

Keywords: Res Gestae, Judgements, Evidence, Declaration, Homicide, Falsehood, Self-Inflicting.