CRIMINAL LAW ROUNDUP: A quick recap of the top criminal cases from January 2025
Top criminal cases on quashing of proceedings, arrest, bail, acquittal, and more.
child witness
‘Child witness evidence appears to be result of tutoring’; Telangana HC acquits man convicted of raping 9-year-old girl
“The evidence of a child witness can easily be influenced by the elders in the family. Acceptance of the child witness evidence would be dangerous in the present circumstances of the case as the evidence appears to be a result of tutoring. Not examining the father and grandfather of the victim, who were sleeping by the side of the victim girl is fatal to the prosecution case”.
It is not grave provocation if wife asks husband to wait for food: Orissa High Court upholds conviction of husband
“There is no rule that in case of every child witness, the trial Court should conduct a preliminary examination. It is only a rule of prudence and not a legal obligation. ”
Bombay High Court dismisses appeal against conviction for murder of his wife based on child witness’ testimony
Mere accompaniment of uncle to visit court for recording statement under section 164 of CrPC is not good ground or submission to hold that the child was tutored.
POCSO| Testimony of child witness can be relied upon in sexual assault cases if trustworthy and unblemished: Calcutta High Court
“In cases involving child witnesses, the Court should consider the child’s age, competency, and demeanor and may uphold a conviction even in the absence of other corroborating witnesses if the victim’s testimony is deemed reliable.”
Section 118 of Evidence Act | Child witness easily susceptible to tutoring; corroborating testimony not a rule but a measure of caution and prudence: Supreme Court
Supreme Court did not deem it safe to base the conviction only on the testimony of child witness which did not inspire confidence and acquitted the appellant.
Bar under Section 33(5) of POCSO Act is not absolute; Kerala High Court allows recalling of child witness for examination for the just decision of the case
Kerala High Court held that child witness can be recalled for examination; bar under Section 33(5) of POCSO Act is not absolute.
Cal HC | Court explains ”Intelligible testimony” and “reverse burden of proof”; dismisses appeal of accused charged for raping 3 year old girl under S. 6, POCSO Act
Calcutta High Court: The Division Bench of Soumen Sen and Rabindranath Samanta, JJ., dismissed a criminal appeal which was filed against the
Conviction can be based on Testimony of Child Witness: Is it obligatory for a Judge to ask the child whether he/she is able to understand questions put to her? Bom HC [Full Story]
Bombay High Court: Anuja Prabhudessai, J., opined that where the witness is of tender age (as in the instant case before the
Del HC | Can testimony of child victim be trustworthy? HC reiterates law on finding child witness competent
Delhi High Court: Emphasising the reliability on the child victim’s testimony, Manoj Kumar Ohri, J., dismissed the appeal filed and the conviction
All HC | In rape/sexual assault cases, evidence of the victim alone is sufficient for conviction or corroborative witnesses is a necessity? Explained
Allahabad High Court: Suresh Kumar Gupta, J., while addressing the present jail appeal held that, “…in cases involving sexual assault/rape, it is
Bom HC | In the absence of oath can evidence of child witness be considered under S. 118 Evidence Act? HC elaborates
Bombay High Court: A Division Bench of Sunil P. Deshmukh and B.U. Debadwar, JJ., upheld the decision of the Additional Sessions Judge and
Tri HC | Corroboration of testimony of child witness is a rule of prudence and nothing more; deposition by child witness after 22 years admitted
Tripura High Court: The Division Bench comprising of Sanjay Karol, CJ and Arindam Lodh, J. admitted the deposition of the prosecution witness
Age not a bar to decide competency of a child witness: Minor being the only eyewitness can be recalled at a later stage
Kerala High Court: In the order passed by Sunil Thomas, J., the Court addressed the issue whether a minor is competent enough
Evidence led by child witness if found reliable, can’t be dismissed merely on the ground that the same was made by a child
Uttaranchal High Court: The Court recently addressed a criminal petition in which the appellant had appealed against his conviction by trial court
Testimonies of child witnesses cannot be automatically rejected, instead to be carefully scrutinized so as to remove doubts of tutoring
Delhi High Court: A Single Judge Bench comprising of Vinod Goel, J, upheld the conviction of the appellant under Section 10 of
10 years jail term awarded to a man for raping a 5 year old girl
Delhi High Court: Dealing with a case where a five-year-old girl “X” was raped by her neighbour, a bench of S.P. Garg
Court upheld 10 years imprisonment awarded to the accused for committing rape, on the sole testimony of 5 years old victim
Delhi High Court: In an another horrifying incident of rape, where a 5 year old girl was subjected to rape by the