Evidence by probe officer holds weight: SC

Evidence given by a police officer should not be discarded outright as untrustworthy merely under the presumption that his version may be coloured or biased, the Supreme Court observed.

“There is no legal proposition that evidence of police officials unless supported by independent evidence is unworthy of acceptance. Evidence of police witnesses cannot be discarded merely on the ground that they belong to police force and interested in the investigation and their desire to see the success of the case,” a Bench of Justices J.S. Khehar and R. Banumathi said in a recent judgment.

On the other hand, the judgment said the evidence given by a police officer should be carefully scrutinised by the trial court.

“Prudence however requires that the evidence of police officials who are interested in the outcome of the result of the case needs to be carefully scrutinised and independently appreciated. Mere fact that they are police officials does not by itself give rise to any doubt about their creditworthiness,” the apex court said.

Contraband case

The Bench passed the observations while awarding 10-year prison sentence to an accused caught with 13 quintals of contraband and 20 kg of poppy husk in a vehicle 26 years ago. The court was answering a plea by the accused, Baldev Singh, that his conviction cannot be based on the evidence given by a police officer, who was part of the probe team in the case. He said the officer was apparently an interested party and not impartial witness who favoured his conviction.

Sources:  http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/evidence-by-probe-officer-holds-weight-sc/article7881786.ece