NEW DELHI, SEPT 29: The Supreme Court has cautioned the courts against basing conviction of an accused solely on a dying declaration without any other corroborative evidence on record."In order that a dying declaration may form the sole basis for conviction without the need for independent corroboration, it must be shown that the person making it had the opportunity of identifying the person implicated and is thoroughly reliable and free from blemish," the court said.The court said, "If, in the facts and circumstances of a case, it is found that the maker of the statement was in a fit stage of mind and had voluntarily made the statement on the basis of personal knowledge without being influenced by others and the court on strict scrutiny finds it to be reliable, there is no rule of law or even of prudence that such a reliable piece of evidence cannot be acted upon unless it is corroborated."A dying declaration is an independent piece of evidence like any other piece of evidence - neither extra strong nor weak - and can be acted upon without corroboration if it is found to be otherwise true and reliable, the court observed.The ruling was handed down by a division bench comprising Justice K T Thomas and Justice D P Wadhwa while letting off an accused, charged with the murder of his young wife by setting her on fire.The relationship between Jai Karan and his wife, Wanti Devi, a couple living in Delhi, was not cordial. She had gone to a district court in Delhi with a claim for maintenance against her husband. However, on the intervention of their relations and well-wishers, the differences were patched up and she withdrew the case. She also returned to her marital home and started living with her husband.Eight months later, on September 25, 1990, Wanti Devi was admitted to the Jai Prakash Narain Hospital with extensive burn injuries. She succumbed to her injuries the same day. Before her death, she allegedly told a doctor that she was burnt by her husband by pouring kerosene after a fight between the two.The prosecution case was solely based on her dying declaration. An Additional Sessions Judge, Delhi, held him guilty of the charge of murder of his wife and awarded him imprisonment for life, which was confirmed by the Delhi High Court.The Supreme Court in its judgment said that the prosecution evidence rested solely on the dying declaration allegedly made by the deceased to a doctor of the hospital since the parents, other relations and neighbours did not support its case.A look at the document containing the dying declaration, clearly brings out that an endorsement had been made by Dr Rajendra Prasad Singh at 0110 hrs that the injured Wanti devi was not in a fit condition for making the statement. This endorsement also gains support from the evidence of the police officer who stated that on getting the information about the incident when he reached the hospital, he was told that the injured is not in a fit condition for making any statement and he returned without recording it, the court noted.
