AHMEDABAD: The Gujarat high court ruled that a school leaving certificate without supporting material has little evidentiary value in establishing a person’s age in a criminal trial.
In a case before the HC, the government was challenging the acquittal of a man 27 years ago, in a case where he was accused of luring and raping a 12-year-old in March 1994.
He was acquitted in 1996 as the prosecution could not establish its case beyond reasonable doubt and the court found the victim’s testimony to be “tutored by the police”.
The accused was also acquitted because the victim’s age could not be established. Her father furnished a school leaving certificate showing the girl’s date of birth to be January 1, 1982, but the court had its doubts about the accuracy of the date.
The girl’s father also submitted that he had registered the girl’s birth with the village authorities but did not produce her birth certificate.
With loopholes in the case presented by prosecution, the bench of Justice AS Supehia and Justice MR Mengdey refused to interfere in the order of acquittal.
About the victim’s age, the judges said that a school leaving certificate issued by a public school is admissible evidence under Section 35 of the Evidence Act. However, its admissibility is not of much evidentiary value to prove the girl’s age in the absence of corroborative evidence.
In a case before the HC, the government was challenging the acquittal of a man 27 years ago, in a case where he was accused of luring and raping a 12-year-old in March 1994.
He was acquitted in 1996 as the prosecution could not establish its case beyond reasonable doubt and the court found the victim’s testimony to be “tutored by the police”.
The accused was also acquitted because the victim’s age could not be established. Her father furnished a school leaving certificate showing the girl’s date of birth to be January 1, 1982, but the court had its doubts about the accuracy of the date.
The girl’s father also submitted that he had registered the girl’s birth with the village authorities but did not produce her birth certificate.
With loopholes in the case presented by prosecution, the bench of Justice AS Supehia and Justice MR Mengdey refused to interfere in the order of acquittal.
About the victim’s age, the judges said that a school leaving certificate issued by a public school is admissible evidence under Section 35 of the Evidence Act. However, its admissibility is not of much evidentiary value to prove the girl’s age in the absence of corroborative evidence.