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Accomplice: Importance of Section 114 and 133 of Indian Evidence Act

An accomplice is someone connected to a crime through unlawful acts or omissions and admits involvement. [SECTION 133] states an accomplice is a competent witness against the accused. Police often pick the least guilty suspect arrested and offer a pardon for true information about the crime. An accomplice includes the principal offender, those who abet or procure the crime but don't participate, and those who help criminals after the fact. [SECTIONS 114 AND 133] deal with accomplices - [SECTION 114] says courts presume accomplices are unworthy of credit without corroboration, while [SECTION 133] says they are competent witnesses. Corroboration of accomplice testimony is generally required due to risks of false testimony

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380 views2 pages

Accomplice: Importance of Section 114 and 133 of Indian Evidence Act

An accomplice is someone connected to a crime through unlawful acts or omissions and admits involvement. [SECTION 133] states an accomplice is a competent witness against the accused. Police often pick the least guilty suspect arrested and offer a pardon for true information about the crime. An accomplice includes the principal offender, those who abet or procure the crime but don't participate, and those who help criminals after the fact. [SECTIONS 114 AND 133] deal with accomplices - [SECTION 114] says courts presume accomplices are unworthy of credit without corroboration, while [SECTION 133] says they are competent witnesses. Corroboration of accomplice testimony is generally required due to risks of false testimony

Uploaded by

ShashikantSauravBarnwal
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Accomplice

Accomplice is a witness to the crime, who is connected with the crime by any
unlawful act or omission, with his active or inactive participation to the crime some
way or the other and he/she admits his/her active involvement in the crime.

Section 133 of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872 talks about accomplice witness.
According to it, an accomplice is a competent witness against an accused person.
Usually, crimes are committed in sheltered or private places. In such cases, the police
pick up one of the suspects, that have been arrested and who are least guilty and asks
them to give all the information regarding the crime, how it was committed and offers
him surety to be pardoned for the crime if he delivers true information.

“It was held in R.K. Dalmia V. Delhi administration[1] that an accomplice is a person


who participates in the commission of the actual crime charged against the accused.”

Categories of an accomplice

1.   Principal offender

The principal offender is the person who actually commits the crime or abets the
crime.

2.    Before the fact

People, who abet, incite or procure for the commission of a crime and do not
participate in the crime.

3.    After the fact

People who protect the persons who have committed the crime or help them to escape
from the location are also considered as the participants of the crime.

Importance of section 114 and 133 of Indian Evidence Act

These two provisions deal with the same subject. Section 114 of the Evidence Act
says that the accomplice is presumed to be unworthy of credit by the court unless
corroborated in material particulars.
Section 133 of the Indian Evidence Act says that accomplice shall be treated as a
competent witness against the accused person.

When section 133 of the evidence act is read along with section 114(b), we find the
most essential issue with relation to accomplice evidence is that of corroboration. The
general rule regarding corroboration is not the rule of law but is merely a rule of
practice which is followed in both India and England.

Accomplice evidence shall be corroborated for the following reasons.

 There are chances that accomplice may swear falsely to shift the guilt from
himself.

 An accomplice is an immoral person as he is involved in the crime.

 Accomplice only discloses the fact in the greed and hope of getting a pardon
from the punishment.

The power to tender pardon is subject to so many conditions which are specified by
the code, and some are prescribed by the judges.

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