Evidence by child witness crucial in trials, rules SC

New Delhi, June 18
The Supreme Court has yet again held that a statement by a child witness can be treated as a crucial piece of evidence like any other given by a witness in a criminal trial and may form the basis for convicting an accused.
A Vacation Bench comprising Justices Arijit Pasayat and P P Naolekar asked the courts, including the high courts to treat such statements cautiously as minors can be influenced easily. “The evidence of a child witness cannot be rejected outright, but the evidence must be evaluated carefully and with greater circumspection because a child is susceptible to be swayed by what others tell him and thus a child witness is an easy prey to tutoring,” it said.
While relying on their statements, it further asked the court’s to assess whether the victim’s statement is voluntary and not under the influence of others. The ruling came during the hearing of a case where the apex court decided to go by the statement of a minor rape victim who held the accused, Md Kalam, guilty of the crime.
It observed that the trial court and the Patna High Court have found the evidence provided by the child witness as “cogent, credible and had grain of truth.” It held that the HC rightly found that the evidence of the victim was free from any influence.
While the Bench upheld the conviction, it, however, felt that “five years custodial sentence with fine imposed by the trial court and maintained by the HC would meet the ends of justice.”
Earlier, the Sessions Court in Bihar had sentenced Kalam to ten years imprisonment for raping a six-year-old girl. Since the Patna High Court dismissed Kalam’s appeal, he had approached the apex court. Kalam’s advocate contended that the two subordinate courts had wrongly convicted him by relying upon the testimony of a child without further corroboration.
The state counsel submitted that the testimony of a child witness particularly in such a heinous case does not require corroboration, as long as it is credible. It was pointed out that the victim, immediately after the rape, had told her mother about the incident and, therefore, her evidence is of considerable importance.