Indian Penal Code, 1860
Section 302 read with Section 34—Murder—Conviction—Oral dying declaration—A dying declaration, oral or written, before it could be relied upon, must pass a test of reliability as it is a statement made in the absence of the accused and there is no opportunity to the accused even to put it through the fire of cross-examination to test is genunity or veracity—Court has, therefore, to subject it to close scrutiny—Once court is satisfied that it is truthful version as to the circumstances in which the death resulted and the persons causing injuries, the law does not expect that there should be corroboration before it can be relied upon—If there are infirmities and the court does not find it safe to base any conclusion on it without some further evidence to support it, the question of corroboration arises—Oral evidence of witness is quite natural—Oral dying declaration of deceased made before the witness stands corroborated with medical evidence on record—Abscondance of accused for eight days, which is not explained, is one another incriminating circumstance and, if taken into consideration with the other circumstances on record, would bear some relevance while deciding the guilt of accused—Conviction upheld.
[Paras 21 & 25]