Murder: Court relies on dying declaration, jails man for life

New Delhi, Apr 1: A man will not meet his maker with a lie in his mouth, a Delhi court has observed while relying on the dying declaration of a person who was stabbed by his relative two years ago.

The court made the observation while awarding life term to the convict for offence of murder under section 302 of IPC.

"Admissibility of a dying declaration rests on a principle that a sense of impending death produces in a man's mind the same feeling as that of a conscientious and virtuous man under oath. A man will not meet his maker with a lie in his mouth. "...when one is virtually at the point of death, and when every hope of this world is gone, when every motive to falsehood is silenced, and the mind induced by the most powerful considerations to speak the truth; a situation so solemn and so awful is considered by the law as creating an obligation equal to that which is imposed by a positive oath administered in a court of justice," Additional Sessions Judge Manoj Jain said.

"I do not find any single reason to disbelieve such dying declaration. There is nothing which may suggest that such statement is fabricated or concocted one," the judge said.

While awarding life imprisonment to him, the court said there was hope for convict Vishal to reform himself, hence, the case did not fall within the category of rarest of rare. The court also imposed a fine of Rs 20,000 on the convict, a resident of north-west Delhi, and directed him to pay the same to the victim's wife.

It recommended that the victim's family be adequately compensated by the District Legal Services Authority, north- west district. According to the prosecution, on March 26, 2013, the victim Madan Lal and his wife were celebrating Holi at their home with their relatives when Lal stated that Vishal was a drug addict and had an evil eye on his wife.

Vishal got agitated by the charge and threatened to kill the victim and a few hours later, stabbed him.

PTI