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Gul Singh alias Guliya v. State of Madhya Pradesh

Criminal Appeal · Neutral citation not assigned (Criminal Appeal No. 667 of 2011)Decided 16 Sept 2014
Criminal Appeal No. 667 of 2011
Justice V. Gopala Gowda · Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel

Background

Armed men entered a family's house, killed one member, injured others and abducted a woman who was subsequently raped. The trial court convicted the accused, and the High Court maintained murder and other convictions while limiting the rape conviction to Gul Singh. The accused challenged identification and the evidence of a teenage eyewitness.

Decision Breakdown

The Court dismissed the appeal and maintained the convictions and sentences affirmed by the High Court. Injured eyewitnesses and the abducted woman gave credible accounts supported by other evidence. The teenager's testimony was reliable, showed no tutoring and was corroborated. Failure to name every accused in the initial report did not undermine the reliable evidence identifying them.

Lesson Learnt

A young eyewitness's account cannot be discarded simply because of age. Courts assess whether the witness understands the questions and gives a reliable account, including whether tutoring or other weaknesses are shown.

Official source (sci.gov.in)View Judgment (PDF)

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