Orissa High Court Upholds Life Sentences Of Murder Convicts Basing Upon Testimony Of ‘Child Witness’

Case: Ashis Kerketta & Anr. v. State of Odisha

Coram: Chief Justice Dr. S. Muralidhar and Justice Chittaranjan Dash

Case No.: JCRLA No. 67 of 2015

Court Observation: “In the present case, the Court is satisfied that the evidence of PW-14, the child witness, is clear and cogent without any contradictions and has been fully corroborated by the medical evidence. She was subjected to cross-examination but none of the so-called inconsistencies could be brought out by the defence. The Court has also perused the remainder of the evidence which by and large corroborates the evidence of the PW-14 as regards events prior to the actual occurrence.”

“There is no Rule or practice that in every case the evidence of such a witness be corroborated by other evidence before a conviction can be allowed to stand but as a Rule of prudence the court always finds it desirable to seek corroboration to such evidence from other reliable evidence placed on record. Further, it is not the law that if a witness is a child, his evidence shall be rejected, even if it is found reliable.” “In the present case, the Court is satisfied that the prosecution has been able to prove the guilt of the accused beyond all reasonable doubt. Consequently, the Court finds no reason to interfere with the impugned judgment of the trial Court. The appeal is accordingly dismissed…”

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Keywords

Sentences Of Murder Convicts, Child Witness