Authored by Pujita Makani
What is the evidentiary value of a child's witness testimony?
Witness
testimonies are one of the prime ingredients used for laying the foundation of
evidence in a criminal case. The credibility of witnesses is definitely of key
concern during a trial in order to dispense justice. What if a child steps into
the witness box? Would his/her statements pass the test of credibility and be
considered to possess evidentiary value?
This
issue was discussed and the relevant case law were amalgamated in the Supreme
Court judgement of State of M.P. v.
Ramesh and Anr.
In short, yes. Children’s testimonies do possess evidentiary value and need not
even be corroborated! Merely because the evidence was obtained from a child
witness does not vitiate it. Of course there are ifs and buts to this stance…
The
competence of a witness is determined in accordance with the provisions of
Section 5 of Indian Oaths Act, 1873 and Section 118 of Evidence Act, 1872.
Every witness must be able to understand the questions and provide rational
answers, this requirement is pretty straightforward. However in the case of a
child witness, the court
observed that children are prone to be ‘tutored’ or instructed but this cannot
be the sole reason to discredit their testimony. There must be clear evidence
that the statements deposed were tailored to suit the party.
There
are few pointers in determining the competence of a child:
Whether
he/she has the capacity to understand the weight of his statements and the
consequences thereof, whether he is able to comprehend the obligation of an
oath and distinguish between right and wrong.
After
careful scrutiny, in the absence of any obstacle, the evidence must be accepted.
If however the statement is partly ‘tutored’ the court may severe it from the
rest and consider the untutored part.
Hope
this post has made you aware of the legal and evidentiary stance on testimonies
deposed by child witnesses.