Dying Declaration

Court :
In The Hon'ble Supreme Court of India
Brief :
In this case there were two dying declarations though one was made before the Magistrate. But the forensic expert opinion which remained unimpeached raised doubt as regards the condition of the deceased to make a voluntary and truthful statement. After examining the case law the court came to the conclusion that “the dying declaration must inspire confidence so as to make it safe to act upon. Whether it is safe to act upon a dying declaration depends upon not only the testimony of the person recording dying declaration – be it even a magistrate but also all the material available on record and the circumstances including the medical evidence” (Emphasis supplied). And the court refused conviction on the basis of dying declaration.
Citation :
Nallapati Sivaiah v. Sub-Divisional Officer, Guntur, A.P., Cr. App. No. 1315 of 2005, decided on September 26, 2007

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