The Supreme Court observed that the trial courts have to make proper preliminary examination of minor witnesses before recording their evidence.
This is to to ascertain whether the minor is capable of understanding the questions put to him and is able to give rational answers.
In this case, the the Sessions Court convicted the accused under Section 302 read with Section 34 of the Indian Penal Code and Sections 449 and 324 read with Section 34 of IPC. The conviction, which was later upheld by the Punjab and Haryana High Court, was based mainly on the testimony of a minor witness. The appellant-accused before the Apex Court contended that there is absolutely no corroboration to the testimony of the minor witness which is full of material contradictions and improvements and that his evidence is not reliable.