Conviction Can't Be Based Solely On Extra Judicial Confession: Supreme Court
NDTV
The top court set aside the July 2016 judgement of the Madras High Court which had confirmed the verdict of a trial court convicting and awarding life term to five persons in a murder case.
The Supreme Court on Thursday said when an extra-judicial confession is not duly proved or corroborated by any other reliable evidence, the conviction could not be based solely on such "weak piece" of evidence.
The top court set aside the July 2016 judgement of the Madras High Court which had confirmed the verdict of a trial court convicting and awarding life term to five persons in a murder case.
A bench of Chief Justice Uday Umesh Lalit and Justice Bela M Trivedi noted in its judgement that heavy reliance was placed by the prosecution on alleged extra-judicial confession made by one of the accused through a letter addressed to one of the prosecution witnesses in the case.
It observed that the high court had refused to rely upon the alleged extra-judicial confession on the ground that neither the handwriting expert was examined nor any of his opinion was proved by the prosecution.
