DR.

RAM MANOHAR LOHIYA NATIONAL LAW

UNIVERSITY

Subject: LAW OF EVIDENCE

Semester – 5

FINAL DRAFT
DYING DECLARATION

Submitted to: Submitted by:

Mr. Vipul Vinod Shivangi Nayak
Assistant Professor BA.LLB. (Hons.)
RMLNLU Roll no. 127

i
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I would like to express the deepest appreciation to Asst. Professor Vipul Vinod, and Asst. Pof. A.
P. Singh sir, who gave me the opportunity to work on this wonderful research topic. He has also
shown the attitude and the substance of a genius: He continually and persuasively conveyed a
spirit of adventure in regard to research and an excitement in regard to teaching. Without his
supervision and constant help this study would not have been possible.
I would like to express my gratitude towards my parents and my classmates for their kind co-
operation and encouragement which helped me in completion of this project. I would like to
extend my sincere thanks to all of them.
I am highly indebted to library of Dr. Ram Manohar Lohiya National Law University for
providing necessary information regarding the project.

. Shivangi Nayak

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 TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Introduction ………………………………………………………..01
2. Forms/ types of dying declaration………………………………….03
3. Legal Analysis……………………………………………………...03
Identification through dying declaration……………………………05
4. Evidentiary value of dying declaration……………………………..08
5. Exceptions of dying declaration…………………………………….09
6. What happen if dying declaration is incomplete?…………………..11
7. Made in a fit condition………………………………………………11
8. To whom dying declaration must be given?.......................................12
9. Conclusion…………………………………………………………...13
10. Bibliography…………………………………………………………14

iii
 INTRODUCTION

The purpose of this research is to identify the principle of “Leterm Mortem” which means
“words said before death” & in a legal term it is called ‘Dying Declaration’. The word “Dying
Declaration” itself tells the meaning but this project highlights those questions, which have a
great value in legal field relating to dying declaration. The study tells about those statements
which converted into dying declaration, different forms of dying declaration, which are
admissible by law, it’s importance in the law & clears that has it some value or not? And if it has,
then what are the exceptions of it?

A statement by a person who is conscious and knows that death is imminent concerning what he
or she believes to be the cause or circumstances of death that can be introduced into evidence
during a trial in certain cases.

A dying declaration is considered credible and trustworthy evidence based upon the general
belief that most people who know that they are about to die do not lie. As a result, it is an
exception to the Hearsay rule, which prohibits the use of a statement made by someone other
than the person who repeats it while testifying during a trial, because of its inherent
untrustworthiness. If the person who made the dying declaration had the slightest hope of
recovery, no matter how unreasonable, the statement is not admissible into evidence. A person
who makes a dying declaration must, however, be competent at the time he or she makes a
statement, otherwise, it is inadmissible. A dying declaration is usually introduced by the
prosecution, but can be used on behalf of the accused.

Word “Dying Declaration” means a statement written or verbal of relevant facts made by a
person, who is dead. It is the statement of a person who had died explaining the circumstances of
his death. This is based on the maxim ‘nemo mariturus presumuntur mentri’ i.e. a man will not
meet his maker with lie on his mouth. Our Indian law recognizes this fact that ‘a dying man
seldom lies.’ Or ‘truth sits upon the lips of a dying man.’ It is an exception to the principle of
excluding hearsay evidence rule. Here the person (victim) is the only eye-witness to the crime,
and exclusion of his statement would tend to defeat the end of justice. Section 32 of Indian
Evidence act deals with the cases related to that person who is dead or who cannot be found.
Section 32: Cases in which statements of relevant fact by person who is dead or cannot be
found.—statement, written or verbal, or relevant facts made by a person who is dead, or who
cannot be found, or who has become incapable of giving evidence, or whose attendance cannot
be procured without an amount of delay or expanse which, under the circumstances of the case
appears to the Court unreasonable, are themselves relevant facts in the following cases:

(1) When it relates to cause of death.

(2) Or is made in course of business.

1
(3) Or against interest of maker.
(4) Or gives opinion as to public right or custom or matters.
(5) Or relates to existence of relationship.
(6) Or is made in will or deed relating to family.
(7) Or in document relating to transaction mentioned in section 13, clause (a).
(8) Or is made by several persons and expresses feelings relevant to matter in question.

But here, we are studying about ‘dying declaration’ which deals with the cases relate to cause of
death. It is mentioned in sub-section (1) of section 32 of Indian Evidence act.

Section 32 (1) When it relates to cause of death.—When the statement is made by a person as to
the cause of his death, or as to any of the circumstances of the transaction which resulted in his
death, in cases in which the cause of that person’s death comes into question.1
The most recent case of dying declaration that has been in the limelight can be sited as the
Nirbhaya case, wherein the victim gave a dying declaration about the perpetrator of the crime
through gesture and writing. It was admissible in the Court when the trial for the case was
conducted.
Dying declaration are an exception to the hearsay evidence non-admissibility rule set out under
section 63 of the IEA, which states that ‘oral evidence must be direct’. A declaration made by a
person who is dead at the time of the trial or the proceedings comes under the definition of
hearsay evidence. Yet it is admissible in the court of law.
LORD LUSH, L.J., quoted that “A dying declaration is admitted in evidence because it is
presumed that no person who is immediately going into the presence of his Maker, will do so
with a lie on his lips. But the person making the declaration must entertain settled hopeless
exception of immediate death. If he think he will die tomorrow it will not do.”2
LORD EYE,C.B., also held that “ The principle on which this species of evidence is admitted is,
that they are declarations made in extremity, when the part is at the point of oath, and the every
hope of this world is gone; when every motive of falsehood is silenced, and the mind is induced
by the most powerful consideration to speak the truth; a situation so solemn and awful is
considered by law as creating an obligation equal to that which is imposed by a positive oath
administered in the court of justice”.3

1
Shipra Arora, Dying Declaration-Section 32(1) of Indian Evidence Act ,
http://www.legalservicesindia.com/article/article/dying-declaration-section-32(1)-of-indian-evidence-act-1682-
1.html
2
Supra note 4
3
Ibid

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 FORMS/TYPES OF DYING DECLARATION

There is no specific guideline or parameter to define the admissibility of a dying declaration; it

can be verbal/ oral or written. It can be partly oral or partly written, at times it can be recorded
when the declarant uses gestures or signs to give dying declaration, it can be in the form of
question and answer. Even if the dying declaration is made in vernacular language and the same
is recorded/ translated in English language, the same is considered admissible before the court of
law. The declaration made orally must be taken with due care and caution. The Supreme Court
held that dying declaration must be scrutinized minutely with a “microscopic eye” to make it
admissible. Usually time limit is not taken into consideration; there are cases where dying
declaration is considered admissible made 4 months prior to death.
In Ranjit Singh vs. State of Punjab the deceased had written a letter to his brother mentioning
that his relationship was not cordial with his wife and he has apprehended dragger of his life
from his wife. These letters were written by the deceased five years prior to the incident sought
to be proved. The court held that the letters are admissible as dying declaration as they alleged of
the circumstances that brought about his death.
The only object to make it admissible is that the ends of justice must not be defeated. Where the
victim is about to die/ already dead or there is no other eye witness or even if there are some they
might not come forward after the death of victim, in that situation the statement of the victim
plays a very evident role. The grounds of admissibility of statement are the death of the declarant
and the presumption that before dying the person would state the truth. Supreme Court has held
that conviction solely on dying declaration is valid.4

LEGAL ANALYSIS

In Ulka Ram v. State of Rajasthan5 Apex Court held that, “when a statement is made by a person
as to cause of his death or as to any circumstances of transaction which resulted into his death, in
case in which cause of his death comes in question is admissible in evidence, such statement in
law are compendiously called dying declaration.”

The Apex Court in its decision in P.V. Radhakrishna v. State of Karnataka6 held that ‘the
principle on which a dying declaration is admitted in evidence is indicated in Latin maxim, nemo
morturus procsumitur mentri, a man will not meet his maker with a lie in his mouth. Information

4
Shivangi Dube, Admissibility of Dying Declaration, https://www.legalindia.com/admissibility-dying-declaration/
5
Appeal (crl.) 749 of 2000
6
Appeal (crl.) 1080 0f 2002

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lodged by a person who died subsequently relating to the cause of his death, is admissible in
evidence under this clause.

In a leading case, wife of the accused had borrowed money from the deceased in the sum of Rs.
3000 at the interest of 18 percent. Related to his debt a number of letters had signed by the wife
of accused which was discovered from the house of deceased after his death. One letter which
was not signed by someone had been received by the deceased K.N. on 20th March,1937, it was
reasonably clear that it would had come from the wife of accused, who invited him to come
Berhampur on that day or next day.

Widow of K.N. had told to the court that his husband had told him that Swami’s wife had invited
him to come to Berhampur to receive his payment. Next day K.N. left his house to go to
Berhampur & on 23rd March, his body, which was cut in to seven pieces, found in a trunk in the
compartment of a train at Puri. The accused was convicted of murder & sentenced to death
because there were many evidence against him.

In Wazir Chand v. State of Haryana7 in which Court observed pakala ruling & said, ‘applying
these to the facts of the case their Lordships pointed out that the transaction in the case was one
in which the deceased was murdered on 21st March & his body was found in a trunk proved to
be bought on behalf of the accused. The statement made by the deceased on 20th March that he
was setting out to the place where the accused was living, appeared clearly to be a statement as
to some of the circumstances of the transaction which resulted in his death. Thus the statement
was rightly admitted.

In the case of R. v. Jenkins the accused was charged with the murder of a lady. He attacked her
at midnight but she had recognized her because there were sufficient light to identify him. When
magistrate’s clerk asked her about the accused to record her statement, she told that he was
Jenkins who had done the crime. The clerk asked her that, did she make the statement with no
hope of her recovery then, she replied that she was making that statement with no hope of
recovery. But when the clerk read that statement over to her, before her signing, she told her to
add the word ‘at present’ in that statement.

It was held by the court that the statement was not a dying declaration as her insistence upon the
words “at present” showed that she had some, however faint hope of recovery.

7
AIR 1989 SC 378

4
  IDENTIFICATION THROUGH DYING DECLARATION

There is no particular form of dying declaration which is identified or admissible in the eye of
law. But that must be functioning as a piece of evidence with the proper identification. In a case,
Apex court has also held that, “The crux of the whole matter was as to who had stabbed the
deceased & why. These crucial facts are to be found in the dying declaration.”

 Question answer form

Where the dying declaration was not recorded in question-answer form, it was held that it could
not be discarded for that reason alone. A statement recorded in the narrative may be more natural
because it may give the version of the incident as perceived by the victim.
 Gestures & signs form
In the case of Queen-Empress v. Abdullah8 Accused had cut the throat of the deceased girl &
because of that, she was not able to speak so, she indicated the name of the accused by the signs
of her hand, it was held by the full bench of the Allahabad High Court “If the injured person is
unable to speak, he can make dying declaration by signs & gestures in response to the question.”
In another case The Apex Court observed that “the value of the sign language would depend
upon as to who recorded the signs, what gestures & nods were made, what were the questions
asked, whether simple or complicated & how effective & understandable the nods & gestures
were.”

 Language of statement
Where the deceased made the statement in Kannada & Urdu languages, it was held that the
statement could not be discarded on that ground alone, or on the ground that it was recorded only
in Kannada. Where the statement was in Telugu & the doctor recorded it in English but the
precaution of explaining the statement to the injured person by another doctor was taken, the
statement was held to be a valid dying declaration.
 Oral Declaration
The Apex Court emphasized the need for corroboration of such declaration particularly in a case
of this kind where the oral statement was made by the injured person to his mother & she being
an interested witness. Such declaration has to be considered with care & caution. A statement
made orally by the person who was struck down with a lathi blow on head and which was
narrated by the witness who lodged the F.I.R. as a part of the F.I.R. was accepted as a reliable
statement for the purpose of Section 32.

8
(1885) ILR All 385

5
  Thumb Impression
A dying declaration authenticated by thumb impression was considered to be doubtful in view of
the fact that the victim had sustained 100 percent burns.

 Incomplete Statement
The Apex Court had held that if a deceased fails to complete the main sentence (as for instance,
the genesis or motive for the crime) a dying declaration would be unreliable. However, if the
deceased has narrated the full story, but fails to answer the last formal question as to what more
he wanted to say, the declaration can be relied upon.

 Where declarer survives

In a case decided by the Apex Court, the deceased who had made the dying declaration was
seriously injured, but was conscious throughout when making the statement. The Court held that
mirror incoherence in his statement with regard to facts & circumstances would not be sufficient
ground for not relying on his statement, which was otherwise found to be genuine.

 Absence of medical statement of fitness

Where the dying declaration of a dowry victim was challenged on the ground that doctor’s
certificate of mental fitness for statement was not there, the Supreme Court attached no
importance to that omission, because the case was not wholly dependent upon the declaration.
The facts were on record showing that the injured woman had gone to the hospital all alone
changing vehicles on the way. This was sufficient evidence in itself to show her fitness.

 Where interested witnesses were attending to the deceased

The Gawhati High Court has held that when the interested witnesses were attending on the
deceased when he was making a dying declaration, & because of the injuries, the deceased was
neither physically or mentally fit, no reliance could be placed on the dying declaration, in the
absence of evidence to show that the deceased was physically & mentally capable of making the
dying declaration, & was not the victim of any tutoring.

 Where statement is not relevant to the cause of death

When the person making the statement is not proved to have died as a result of the injuries
received in the incident, his statement cannot be said to be the statement as to the cause of his
death or as to any of the circumstances of transaction which resulted in his death.

 Medical Report
The doctor in the hospital clearly recorded in the Accident Register of the Hospital that the
patient was conscious, her orientation was good & that she answered well the question put to her.
Her statement could not be discarded on the basis of her injury or post-mortem report in which it
was said that having regard to the nature of injuries sustained by the deceased, she could not
have been in a position to make a statement. Where the medical report of fitness was available to

6
the magistrate who was to record the statement, it was held that it was not necessary for the
magistrate to make an independent inquiry as to fitness.

 Doctor’s statement
In the case of a bride burning, the doctor to whom the deceased was taken for treatment deposed
that soon after her admission, she said that her husband had poured kerosene on her clothes and
set her ablaze. The doctor made a note of it in the case papers. The testimony of the doctor
became supported by the contemporaneous record. The Court said that the doctor had no reason
to falsely depose against the accused or prepare false case papers.

 FIR as dying declaration

In K.R. Ramachand Reddy v. Public Prosecutor9, it was held that where an injured person lodged
an FIR & then died, it was held to be relevant as a dying declaration.

 Dowry Death, wife burning etc.

The death of a married woman in the matrimonial home three or four months after her statements
expressing the danger to her life has been held by the Apex Court to be a statement explaining
the circumstances of her death. In a case of wife-burning, after recording her statement that her
husband had set afire, she mercifully pleaded that her husband should not be beaten. It was
argued on this basis that she wanted to exonerate her husband. The court replied:

This is a sentiment too touching for tears & stems from the values of the culture of the Indian
womanhood; a wife when she has been set afire by her husband, true to her tradition, does not
want her husband should to be assaulted brutally. It is this sentiment which promoted this dying
tragic woman to say that even if she was dying, her husband should not be beaten. We are unable
to appreciate how this statement can be converted into one exculpative of the accused. In a
further application of this principle to a case arising out of “that atrocious species of murder “ ,
called wife burning, the Apex Court said: “The three dying declarations corroborated by other
circumstances are sufficient in our view to bring home the offence. The counsel has sought to
discredit these declarations forgetting that they are groaning utterances of a dying woman in the
grip of dreadful agony which cannot be judged by the standard of fullness of particulars which
witnesses may give in other situations. To discredit such dying declarations for short- falls here
or there or even in many places is unrealistic, unnatural & unconscionable, if basically there is
credibility. The terrible in this case has taken place in the house & in the presence of the husband
who has been convicted. We hardly see any reason for interfering in this conviction. In a case a
bride was 80% burnt when she had given statement to the doctors. But according to doctors she
was in a fit condition to give statement. The court said that from the fact of 80% burns no
inference was to be drawn that she could not have been capable of making the statement. Where
the declaration of the deceased wife was deposed only by her mother, the Court held this to be
not sufficient to convict.

9
AIR 1976 SC 1994

7
  Statements made to or implicating relatives
The Apex court laid down in the subsequent case of Barati v. State of U.P.10, that a dying
declaration made to the relatives of the deceased, when properly proved can also be trusted. In
this case the deceased who was killed by sprinkling acid on him first made the statement to his
brother & son, repeated it at the police station & again at the hospital charging the accused, the
court held that the statement was worthy of credit. Where the dying statement was recorded by
the wife of the deceased, the Supreme Court did not reject it only on that ground, though it added
that such evidence should be scrutinized with care.

EVIDENTIARY VALUE OF DYING DECLARATION

In K.R. Reddy v. Public Prosecutor11, evidentiary value of dying declaration was observed as
under:-

“The dying declaration is undoubtly admissible under section 32 & not being statement on oath
so that its truth could be tested by cross-examination, the court has to apply the scrutiny & the
closest circumspection of the statement before acting upon it. While great solemnity and sanctity
is attached to the words of a dying man because a person on the verge of death is not likely to tell
lies or to connect a case as to implicate an innocent person, yet the court has to be on guard
against the statement of the deceased being a result of either tutoring, prompting or a product of
his imagination. The court must be satisfied that the deceased was in a fit state of mind to make
the statement after the deceased had a clear opportunity to observe & identify his assailants &
that he was making the statement without any influence or rancor. Once the court is satisfied that
the dying declaration is true & voluntary, it can be sufficient to found the conviction even
without further corroboration.”

In Khushal Rao v. State of Bombay12, Apex Court laid down the following principles related to
dying to dying declaration :

(i) There is no absolute rule of law that a dying declaration cannot be the sole basis of conviction
unless corroborated. A true & voluntary declaration needs no corroboration.

(ii) A dying declaration is not a weaker kind of evidence than any other piece of evidence;

(iii) Each case must be determined on its own facts keeping in view the circumstances in which

10
AIR 1974 SC 839
11
AIR 1976 SC 1994
12
AIR 1958 SC 22

8
the dying declaration was made.

(iv) A dying declaration stands on the same footing as other piece of evidence & has to be
judged in the light of surrounding circumstances & with reference to the principle governing the
weight of evidence.

(v) A dying declaration which has been recorded by a competent Magistrate in the proper
manner, that is to say, in the form of questions and answers, &, as far as practicable in the words
of the maker of the declaration stands on a much higher footing than a dying declaration which
depends upon oral testimony which may suffer from all the infirmities of human memory &
human character.

(vi) In order to test the reliability of a dying declaration the court has to keep in view the
circumstances like the opportunity of the dying man for observation, for example, whether there
was sufficient light if the crime was committed in the night; whether the capacity of man to
remember the facts stated had not been impaired at the time he was making the statement by
circumstances beyond his control; that the statement has been consistent throughout if he had
several opportunities of making a dying declaration apart from the official record of it; & that the
statement had been made at the earliest opportunity & was not the result of tutoring by interested
party.”

EXCEPTIONS OF DYING DECLARATION

The exceptions of ‘Dying declaration’ stipulate that where the statements made by dying persons
are not admissible:

1. If the cause of death of the deceased is not in question: If the deceased made statement before
his death anything except the cause of his death, that declaration is not admissible in evidence.

2. If the declarer is not a competent witness: declarer must be competent witness. A dying
declaration of a child is inadmissible. In Amar Singh v. State of Madhya Pradesh13, 1996 Cr LJ
(MP) 1582, it was held by M.P. High Court that without proof of mental or physical fitness, the
dying declaration was not reliable.

3. Inconsistent declaration: Inconsistent dying declaration is no evidentiary value.

13
1996 CrLJ (MP) 1582

9
4. Doubtful features: In Ramilaben v. State of Gujarat14 it was held by the court that second
degree burn injuries, the injured dying 7-8 hours after the incident, four dying declarations
recorded but none carried medical certificate. There were other doubtful features, evidence not
taken into account.

5. Uninfluenced declaration: it must be noted that dying declaration should not be under
influence of any one.

6. Untrue declaration: it is perfectly permissible to reject a part of dying declaration if it is found

to be untrue & if it can be separated.

7. Incomplete declaration: dying declaration must be complete.

8. If the statement relates to the death of another person: If the statement made by the deceased
does not relate to his death, but to the death of another person, it is not relevant.

9. Contradictory statements: if a declarant made more than one dying declarations & all are
contradictory, then those all declarations lose their value.

10. Unsound person: where the married dying of burns was a person of unsound mind & the
medical certificate vouchsafed her physical fitness for a statement & not the state of mind at the
crucial moment, the court said that the statement could not be relied upon.

11. I If dying declaration is not according to prosecution: in the case of State of U.P. v. Madan
Mohan15 the Apex Court held that:

i). It is for the court to see that dying declaration inspires full confidence as the maker of the
dying declaration is not available for cross-examination.

ii). Court should satisfy that there was no possibility of tutoring or prompting.

ii) Certificate of doctor should mention that victim was in a fit state of mind. Magistrate
recording his own satisfaction about the fit mental condition of the declarant was not acceptable
especially if the doctor was available.

iv). Dying declaration should be recorded by the executive magistrate & police officer to record
the dying declaration only if condition of the deceased was so precarious that no other alternative
was left.

14
AIR 2002 SC 2996
15
AIR 1989 SC 1519

10
v). Dying declaration may be in the form of questions & answers & answers being written in the
words of the person making the dying declaration. But court cannot be too technical.16

WHAT HAPPENS IF THE DYING DECLARATION IS INCOMPLETE?

In case of an incomplete dying declaration, where the person dies before completing the
declaration in that situation the said statement cannot be taken into consideration hence the same
would be inadmissible in the eyes of law. However, if the person made incomplete statement but
have made the declaration about the cause of his death and has revealed that who is the accused/
offender. In that case the question of incomplete declaration would not come into the question;
otherwise the sole purpose of the dying declaration will go in vain.
Even if the declarant fails to answer some of the questions asked and has made the relevant
statement that has caused his death would be considered relevant and admissible before the
Court. In Abdul Sattar v. State of Mysore the court held that however the dying declaration was
not complete, but as far as the accused have shot the deceased is concerned, the said declaration
could certainly be relied upon.

MADE IN A FIT STATE OF MIND

State of Tamil Nadu v. Karuppasamy In this case it was held by the apex court that it would be
improper to reject the dying declaration merely on the ground that the maker is not fit, solely
based on the certificate of the doctor and where the Magistrate did not enquire independently that
the deceased was in a fit state of mind or not at the time the dying declaration was made.
The court must be satisfied that the deceased was in a fit state of mind to make the statement
after the deceased had a clear opportunity to observe & identify his assailants & that he was
making the statement without any pressure or malice. It is perfectly permissible to reject a part of
dying declaration if it is found to be untrue and if it can be separated.
Once the court is satisfied that the dying declaration is true & voluntary, it can be sufficient to
found the conviction even without further corroboration.17

16
Shipra Arora, Dying Declaration-Section 32(1) of Indian Evidence Act ,
http://www.legalservicesindia.com/article/article/dying-declaration-section-32(1)-of-indian-evidence-act-1682-
1.html
17
Ibid

11
 TO WHOM THE DYING DECLARATION MUST BE GIVEN?

a) Best form of dying declaration would be the one that is recorded by the Magistrate.
b) However as per the Supreme Court guidelines anybody can record dying declaration. A bench
of Justices BS Chauhan and Dipak Misra “The law on the issue can be summarized to the effect
that law does not provide who can record a dying declaration, nor is there any prescribed form,
format or procedure for the same,”.
c) Dying declaration can also be recorded by public servants, or by a doctor as well, where the
victim is hospitalized and is badly burnt or injured and wants to make a statement, the doctor can
also record the same and make note of that statement. A person having 100% burns can make a
statement, and a certificate provided by a doctor is not a condition precedent for placing reliance
upon a dying declaration.
d) It can also be made to a relative or a family member and the same plays an admissible role in
the eyes of law.
e) Courts discourage the recording of dying declaration by the police officers but if there is
nobody else to record it, then the dying declarations written by the police officers are also
considered by the courts.
f) If the statements are not recorded by the magistrate then in that case to make it admissible, it is
better that signatures of the witnesses are taken who are present at the time of recording the
dying declaration. It is important that when the declarant is giving the statement, he must be in
sound state of mind.

12
 CONCLUSION

Dying declaration have been fairly crystal clear in the law. Apart from that the judiciary has also
played important in the interpretation of the law and expanding the scope of the statute.
Dying declaration is a very important piece of evidence. It is the most convincing and direct
evidence for the prosecution to prove its case against the accused. Apart from the ocular
evidence and other direct evidence, dying declaration is self-speaking evidence and can prove
much more that the eyewitness can dispose. Based on the maxim ‘nemo mariturus presumuntur
mentri’, men may lie any circumstances but not when they near their death. It is sacrosanct.
A dying declaration has a very spiritual side to it. A man who is going to meet his maker will not
die with a lie on his lips. He is very unlikely to make a false statement. It is against his moral
principles as lying constitutes a sin. The sanctity attached to dying declaration is that a person on
the verge of death would not commit sin in implementing somebody falsely.
A dying declaration has its own drawbacks. For example the accused does not get to examine the
declarant. It violates hos rights. The uncrossed version of the declarant is thrust upon the accused
and could be held guilty of the crime alleged in the declaration. Hence the courts have to be very
cautious and circumspect the declaration.
Section 32 of the IEA describes about dying declaration. It states eight circumstances where
dying declaration may be admissible. In India, dying declaration in not only in admissible in
homicide cases but also in civil cases. However since the provisions have been broad, Court have
stepped in to interpret the law depending on the facts and circumstances of each case.

13
 BIBLIOGRAPHY

BOOKS

 Ratanlal & Dhiraj Lal, The Law of Evidence, Lexis Nexis, 24th Edition
 Indian Evidence Act, 1872 (Bare Act)

WEB SOURCES

 https://www.kaanoon.com/indian-law/what-is-the-evidentiary-value-of-dying-
declaration/
 http://www.legalservicesindia.com/article/article/dying-declaration-section-32(1)-of-
indian-evidence-act-1682-1.html
 https://indiankanoon.org/doc/1481813/
 https://www.legalindia.com/admissibility-dying-declaration/

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