Ajith on Witness

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Description
Trial, be it in a civil suit or in a criminal case, it is a fact finding exercise. What all facts one have seen, heard, told, conceived, knew, understood, inquired into and found out is appraised by another who is totally new to those facts. Convincing him about the state of affairs is the real task in Courts. Burden of proof, preponderance of probability etc. play their own role and compellability and acceptability is the other key pins. Trial and evidence taking are both science and art. The rigidity in watertight principles and the proficiency the art of advocacy need go in harmony.
Here in "Ajith on Witnesses" my attempt was to assimilate the principles and practice of appreciation of evidence of witnesses in a functional mode to make it a worthy companion for both bench and the bar alike. I have tried the best to incorporate the useful propositions for both the aggrieved and his opponent alike.
No doubt, my efforts are insignificant unless positively criticized and accepted by the legal fraternity. I seek your valuable suggestions for the further upgrading of this book.
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Table of Contents
1. WITNESSES
I. Introduction..
2. Comparative Table showing Sections of Indian Evidence Act, 1872 with Corresponding Sections of Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023.
3. Who is a Witness?
4. Who is to testify?
Sec. 124. Who may testify
Sec. 125. Witness unable to communicate verbally
Sec. 127. Judges and Magistrates
5. Quality not quantity
Sec. 139. Number of Witnesses
6. Credibility of the Witness
7. Witness Credibility and Reliability Assessment
8. Position of Witnesses unable to Communicate Verbally
9.  Competency of Witness
10. Competency of Child Witness
11. Voire Dire Test
12. Competency of Lunatics
Sec. 12. What is a sound mind for the purposes of contracting
13. Competency of extreme old aged persons
14. Cause of any other kind.
15. Cause of any other kind - After the questions asked
Sec. 126. Competency of husband and wife as Witnesses in certain cases
16. Judges and Magistrates - Section 121
17. Impeaching the credit of a Witness
Sec. 158. Impeaching credit of Witness
18. Veracity of Witness
19. Judges power to put questions
Sec. 168. Judge's power to put questions or order production.
II. TOPICS
1. Absence of injury on accused
2. Accomplice - Evidence Sec. 119. Court may presume existence of certain facts, Sec. 138. Accomplice
3. Approver's Evidence
4. Accomplice and approver
5. Accomplice -trap Witness
6. Accomplice- who is not an accomplice
7. Accomplice - Witness Sec. 343. Tender of pardon to accomplice
8. Accomplice/approver testimony - extent of corroboration needed
9. Accomplice/Approver testimony - reliability.
10. Approver's extent of credibility.
11. Approver's testimony - Extent of corroboration necessary
12. Antecedent character/Background/status of Witness.
13. Approver's statement.
Reliability of Prosecution Witness testimony.
14. Accomplice/approver Evidence - need for corroboration
15. Approver Evidence - Corroborration of
16. Accomplice/approver - Withdrawal of pardon for failure for non-disclosure Effect of withdrawal of conditional pardon
Accomplice/approver as a Witness
17. Approver - delay in recording statement of
18. Approver's Evidence - Test for appreciation
19. Approver Evidence - Corroborration of
20. Approver's statement
21. Evidence of accomplice
22. Effect of withdrawal of conditional pardon
23. Accused as defence Witness
24. Antecedent character of Witness
25. Ballistic Expert
26. Ballistic Expert's Evidence is only opinion Evidence
27. Caste and community Witness
28. Chance Witness
29. Chance Witness - credibility
30. Chance Witness - how to determine
31. Chance Witness or natural witness
32. Chance Witness - testimony
33. Chance Witness - Murder on road
34. Chance Witness - Alleged eyewitness
35. Chance Witness - testimony of Chance witness
36. Chance Witness - Testimony of closely related eyewitnesses
37. Chance Witness - who are not
38. Chance Witness in murder trial
39. Chance Witness- reliability of Evidence
Sec. 180. Examination of Witnesses by police
40. Chance Witness - Passers-by, best Witnesses
41. Child eye-witness
42. Permissibility of child of tender age to testify
43. Child Witness - conviction on the basis of his testimony
44. Child Witness
45. Child Witness - basic Evidence
46. Child Witness - Evidence of
47. Child Witness - belated disclosure of incident
48. Child Witness - Conviction based on his testimony
49. Child Witness - Conviction based on sole testimony of
50. Child Witness - Corroboartion of Evidence
51. Child Witness - credibility
52. Child Witness - his abnormal/unsound behaviour
53. Child Witness - memory of
54. Child Witness - minor omissions
55. Child Witness - tutoring of
56. Child Witness - Boy aged 14 years
57. Child Witness - Tutoring
58. Child Witness - uncorroborated testimony - effect
59. Child Witness - when competent to testify
Sec. 238. Causing disappearance of evidence of offence, or giving false information to screen offender.
60. Child Witness - Testimony of
61. Child Witness aged 11 years - Reliability
62. Child Witness no oath
63. Choice of Witness for prosecution
64. Clerks - can be Independent Witness
65. Co-conspirators as Witness
66. Competency of Witnesses
67. Complainant/informant who lodged FIR as Witness
68. Conduct of Witnesses - reactions etc
69. Convicted Witness
70. Credibility of a Witness
71. Defence Witness
72. Defence Witness to be treated on a par with prosecution Witness Sec. 80. Dowry death
73. Demenour of Witness
74. Direct evidence and expert evidence
75. Doctor
76. Dog tracking
77. Dumb Witness
78. Expenses of court Witness
79. Expert Witness
80. Experts in printed documents
81. Eye Witness
82. Eye Witness - Evidence - degree of caution
Reliability of testimony of eye-witnesses
83. Eye Witness - Evidence cannot be brushed aside easily
84. Eye Witness - Evidence, need for corroboration
85. Eye Witness - exaggerations, contradictions and embellishments
86. Reliability of testimony of eye-witnesses
87. Eye Witness - meticulous reproduction - credibility. Eye Witness name not mentioned in Charge Sheet
88. Eye Witness - need for corroboration
89. Eye Witness - not giving name of assailant in FIR.
90. Eye Witness – parrot like reproduction
91. Eye Witness - presence at scene of occurrence.
92. Eye Witness - Presence at the time of incident
93. Eye Witness - presence doubted.
94. Eye Witness - recognising assailants
95. Eye Witness - suspicious/unnatural conduct.
96. Eye Witness - unnatural behavior
97. Eye Witness - absence
98. Eye Witness lodging FIR
99. Eye Witness of doubtful character
100. Eye Witness - Antecedents - Relevance
101. Clerks - Can be Independent Witnesses
102. Eye Witness - place of residence
103. Female Witness
104. Finger print expert
105. Handwriting expert
108. Hostile Witness
109. When a Witness may be declared as hostile
110. Identifying Witness
111. Illiterate Witness
112. Independent Witnesses - Non-examination of
113. Independent Witness - Who is an
114. Informer
115. Inimical and related Witness.
116. Injured Witness
Sec. 160. Former statements of Witness may be car proved to corroborate later testimony as to same fact
117. Interested or partisan Witness
118. Investigating officer
119. Lawyer as a Witness
120. Local Witness
121. Material Witness
122. Medical Evidence in conflict with direct Evidence
123. Natural Witness
124. Natural Witness - Domestic servant
125. Neighbour as Witness
126. Non examination of prosecution Witness - effect
127. Number of Witnesses
128. Ordinary Witness
129. Official/departmental Witness
130. Official Witness - whether corroboration necessary?
131. Old Witness.
132. Panch Witness
133. Pocket Witness
134. Panch Witness - examination of all panch Witnesses necessity
135. Panch Witness - examination of all, if necessary
136. Panch Witness - whether police can act as panch Witness
137. Police officials as Witnesses
138. Presumption about Witnesses
139. Professional Witness
140. Prosecution Witness
141. Prosecutrix
142. Public Witness/Public servant
143. Recovery Witness
144. Related Witness.
145. Testimony of relations - Credibility
146. Rustic/rural Witness
147. Scribe as a Witness
148. Search/seizure Witness
149. Seizure Witness- Effect of non-examination of
150. Serologist
151 Shadow Witness
152. Sole/solitary Witness
153. Stock Witness
154. Thumb impression expert
155. Tracker Witness
156. Trap Witness
157. Unchaste woman.
158. Victim as a Witness
159. Vulnerable Witness
160. Wife, as a Witness
161. Witness and his status
162. Witness not named in FIR and Charge.
163. Witness of bad antecedents
164. Witness of same area
165. Witness protection and support
166. Women Witness
Comparative Table showing Sections of Indian Penal Code, 1860 with Corresponding Sections of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023
Comparative Table showing Sections of Cr.PC, 1973 and
BNSS, 2023
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