Supreme Court bats for eye-witness testimony
The Hindu
Delay in recording statements no reason for rejection
Delay on the part of terrified eye-witnesses to record their statements about crimes is not a ground for rejecting their testimonies, the Supreme Court has said in a judgment.
The case concerns the brutal murder of a fish-seller at Malda in West Bengal a decade ago. The accused were sentenced to life in prison. The Calcutta High Court confirmed their guilt in 2019. They, in turn, appealed the decision in the Supreme Court.
They argued that the case hinged on the testimonies of two eye-witnesses whose statements were recorded late and, thus, cannot be trusted. Their lawyer argued that there was no explanation on why they had delayed coming forward to give their statements. The delay was fatal to the case.