The Supreme Court recently laid down the principles to be followed in cases where there are multiple dying declarations. The Court delved into the circumstances where the extent of burn injuries was considered when evaluating the credibility of dying declarations. The Court also clarified that evidence given by interested witnesses should be corroborated by an independent witness.
In this case, the deceased was set on fire and died due to multiple burn injuries and the appellant was booked for murder under section 302, IPC. The Court pointed out that none of the dying declarations conclusively incriminated the accused. Moreover, the Court found inconsistencies and gaps in the prosecution’s case which led to the acquittal of the appellant.