Must a child witness's testimony be corroborated before a conviction can be sustained, or is such corroboration only a rule of prudence?

There is no inflexible rule requiring a child witness's testimony to be corroborated before a conviction can be sustained; such corroboration is a rule of prudence which is to be ordinarily followed, since a child is an easy prey to tutoring and his evidence has to be evaluated carefully. Given the specific and serious doubts as to tutoring in this case, the trial court's insistence on independent corroboration was not an unreasonable or impermissible approach.

Indian Penal Code, 1860 — ss.302, 201 — Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 — s.313 — Appeal against acquittal — Double presumption of innocence — Circumstantial evidence — Child witness testimony — Criminal Procedure — Appeal against acquittal — Standard of interference — Held: In an appeal against reversal of an acquittal, the High Court must bear in mind the double presumption of innocence. It may interfere where the trial court's view was one no reasonable court could have taken on the material before it. (¶22) Evidence — Child witness testimony — Corroboration as rule of prudence — Held further: There is no inflexible rule requiring a child witness's testimony to be corroborated before conviction; such corroboration is merely a rule of prudence. Given the serious doubts as to tutoring here, the trial court's insistence on corroboration was not unreasonable. (¶24, 25) Indian Penal Code, 1860 — Circumstantial evidence — Chain of circumstances — Held further: Circumstantial evidence must form a complete chain excluding every hypothesis other than the accused's guilt; mere suspicion, however grave, cannot substitute for proof. Absent cogent evidence of guilt beyond reasonable doubt, the conviction cannot be sustained; appeal allowed, appellant acquitted. (¶27, 38)

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