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Dying Declaration

Dying declaration refers to statements made by a person who believes they are about to die, explaining the circumstances of their death, and is considered credible evidence under Section 32 of the Indian Evidence Act. The court must ensure the statement is made voluntarily and the deceased was in a fit state of mind, allowing for conviction based solely on the declaration if deemed trustworthy. Key propositions include that coherent and consistent dying declarations can support convictions without corroboration, and each case must be evaluated on its own facts.

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4 views2 pages

Dying Declaration

Dying declaration refers to statements made by a person who believes they are about to die, explaining the circumstances of their death, and is considered credible evidence under Section 32 of the Indian Evidence Act. The court must ensure the statement is made voluntarily and the deceased was in a fit state of mind, allowing for conviction based solely on the declaration if deemed trustworthy. Key propositions include that coherent and consistent dying declarations can support convictions without corroboration, and each case must be evaluated on its own facts.

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Dying declaration – Statements by Persons who cannot be

called as Witnesses
Dying Declaration is a legal concept that refers to the statement which is made by a
dying person explaining the circumstances of his death. It is a statement by a
person who is conscious and knows that death is imminent concerning what he
believes to be the cause or circumstances of his death. It is also considered credible
and trustworthy evidence based upon the general belief that most people who know
that they are about to die “do not lie”.

Section 32 of the Indian Evidence Act deals with the admissibility of dying
declaration. It deals with cases in which statements of relevant fact by person who
is dead or cannot be found etc. is relevant.

When it relates to cause of death: - When the statement made by a person as to


the cause of his death, or as to any of the circumstances of the transaction which
resulted in his death, in cases, in which 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, and
whatever may be the nature of the proceeding in which the cause of his death
comes into question.

In K.R. Reddy v. The Public Prosecutor SC 1976 AIR 1994 the evidentiary
value of dying declaration was observed as under: -

The dying declaration is undoubtedly admissible under Section 32 of the Evidence


Act and not being a statement on oath so that its truth could be tested by cross-
examination, the Courts have to apply the strictest scrutiny before acting upon it.
While great solemnity and sanctity is attached to the words of a dying man because
a person on the verge of death is not likely to tell lies or to concoct a case so as to
implicate an innocent person yet the Court has to be on guard against the statement
of the deceased being a result of either tutoring, prompting or a product of his
imagination.

1. The Court must be satisfied that the deceased was in a fit state of mind to make
the statement after the deceased had a clear opportunity to observe and identify his
assailants and that he was making the statement without any influence.
2. Once the Court is satisfied that the dying declaration is true and voluntary it can
be sufficient to found the conviction even without any further corroboration.

The Court laid down the following general propositions:

1. If the dying declaration is coherent, consistent and trustworthy and appears to


have been made voluntarily, conviction can be based on it even if there’s no
corroboration (R. Mani v. State of T.N. 2006 SC).

2. Each case must go by its own facts.

3. A dying declaration is not a weaker kind of evidence than any other piece of
evidence.

4. A dying declaration which has been properly recorded by a competent


magistrate, in the form of questions and answers, and as far as practicable in the
words of the maker of the declaration is reliable

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