[Section 32, Evidence Act, Art. 46 Q.S. Order]
Principal Consideration of dying declaration are:
(1) There is no specific form for recording dying declaration.
(2) There is no bar that it cannot be made to a private person.
(3) There is no legal requirement that the declaration must be read over or it must be signed by its maker.
(4) It should be free from influence.
(5) To prove such dying declaration the person who recorded it must be examined.
(6) Such declaration becomes substantive evidence when it is proved that it was made by the deceased.
(7) Corroboration of a dying declaration is not a rule, of law but is a requirement of prudence.
(8) Such declaration when proved by cogent evidence can be made a basis for conviction.
(9) PLJ 1998 Cr.C. (Lah.) 161, Kahlid Mahmood.
Expectation of death & cause of death of another man. It is not necessary that the statement can be admitted in evidence only if the person who made the statement expected to die. The statement of the dead person is admissible not only when it relates to the cause of death but also when it relates to any of the circumstances of the transaction which resulted in his death provided the case relates to the cause of persons death. Two sisters were attacked in the course of the same transaction. One died on the spot and the other a number of days later. Held, the statement of the latter with regard to the attack on her sister related to the circumstances of the transaction in which she herself received injuries which caused her death was admissible under section 32 (i). (DB) PLD 1954 Lah. 646. Mian Khan v. Crown. (DB) PLD 1959 Pesh. 115. Nisar Muhammad v. Khanz Ali.
Deceased not expecting to die. The dying declaration neither signed by the deceased nor countersigned by the doctor, held a valid piece of evidence. (DB) 1980 P.Cr.LJ 1190. Ali Aul etc.
Whether death imminent. Doctor did not inform the Police that the victim's death was imminent. Statement of deceased recorded by head constable to be used as a basis of formal. F.I.R. and as a dying declaration. The value of such dying declaration, though recorded by head constable is not diminished. (SC) 1971 SCMR 516. Ejaz Hussain etc.
Awareness of death. The admissibility of the dying declaration does not depend on the fact that the maker was aware of his approaching death. 1973 P.Cr.LJ 812 Bahg Ali (Contra: see below).
Dying declaration is a substantive piece or evidence and can be used against the accused when there is nothing to suggest that the deceased has substituted an innocent person. Dying declaration need not be made under immediate apprehension of death. PLD 1992 S.C. 21, Shamim Akhtar v. Faiz Akhtar etc.
Presumption of truth of dying declaration. Presumption that truth sat upon the lips of the dying man is applicable only to a dying declaration made by a person knowing his death to be imminent and when author of dying declaration is a man of unquestionable integrity and person giving evidence about such declaration is also a person of integrity. (SC) PLD 1977 SC 612, Zarif Khan.
Sanctity of dying declaration. Sanctity normally attaches to dying declaration because a person face to face with death would like to make peace with God and would not tell lies. F.I.R. lodged by deceased himself when he was not in serious condition, held, cannot be treated as dying declaration. (DB) 1969 P.Cr.LJ 724 Hayatullah. Also see (DB) PLD 1978 Kar. 710 Bachal.
Immediate apprehension of death is not necessary for treating a statement as dying declaration. Last incriminating statement made by the deceased can legitimately be treated as dying declaration. (SC) 1975 SCMR 289. Wazir Gul 1976 SCMR 471.
Expectation of death is not necessary to make dying declaration valid. (DB) PLD 1974 Kar. 1 Ayoob. (SC) 1975 SCMR 289 Wazir Gul 1976 SCMR 471.
Deceased not under mortal fear or apprehension of death when making the statement. Such statement without corroboration cannot form the basis of conviction. PLD 1976 Kar. 4 Hadi Bux etc.
Incomplete dying declaration is not admissible in evidence. (SC) 1973 SCMR 26. Muhammad Abdullah v. Muhammad Safdar. (DB) 1978 P.Cr. 498. Amjad.
" is not admissible in evidence because no one can tell what the deceased was about to add. (PC) PLD 1949 PC 299. Cyril Waugh v. King.
Incompleted dying declaration is inadmissible in evidence. It is incomplete when assailant is not named or the person making it suddenly ceased to do so. (DB) PLJ 1975 Cr.C. (Lah.) 98. Amjad etc.
Dying declaration incomplete and partly "touched up" by interested parties cannot be relied on. (DB) PLD 1961 Lah. 244. Allah Ditta.
More than 3 hours delay between the occurrence and recording of dying declaration makes it unsafe to base conviction for murder on such dying declaration. Declaration which follows version and language of F.I.R. becomes doubtful and should not be considered. (DB) PLJ 1974 Cr.C. (Lah.) 469. Ghulam Muhammad etc.
Delay in recording. Dying declaration recorded 22 hours after occurrence and relations of deceased present with him during such period. Dying declaration not relied on. (SC) 1978 SCMR 38. Dildar Hussain v. Muhammad Ashraf.
Record 20 days after incident. Reason for delay that the deceased was unconscious not supported by medical or other prosecution evidence. Investigating officers recording dying declaration at complainant's house without supervision of a Magistrate. Held, doubtful. 1975 P.Cr.LJ 661. Anwar Ahmad Khan.
F.I.R. as dying declaration is admissible under section 32 (i) E.A. as to the cause of informant's death. AIR 1931 Lah. 103 Gajjan v. Emperor.
F.I.R. as dying declaration. F.I.R. made by deceased can be used as dying declaration, another statement made before a Magistrate as dying declaration. Both the statements and F.I.R. discrepant and also not borne out by the medical evidence. Benefit of doubt given to the accused. (SC) 1971 SCMR 222 Fazal Ahmed.
F.I.R. by the deceased treated as dying declaration which by itself is good enough for sustaining conviction on capital charge. However, as the police had not obtained the certificate of the doctor that the deceased was fit to make the statement and no plausible explanation had been given for this omission by the police. Police also did not procure the attendance of a Magistrate to attest the dying declaration. Leave to appeal against acquittal was refused. 1997 SCMR 449, Mst. Ghulam Zuhra v. Muhammad Sadiq etc.
Statement of deceased as FIR can be treated as dying declaration and conviction can be maintained on that on a capital charge. PLJ 1997 S.C. 1170, Mst. Ghulam Zohra v. Malik Muhammad Sadiq etc.
Fard-e-Bayan treated as dying declaration. There was no impending apprehension of death; according to the doctor injury caused on the leg was not sufficient in the ordinary course of nature to cause death. The injured expired on the next day because of the injury. Held, in law there is nothing that the maker of the statement should necessarily be under apprehension of immediate death. (D.B) PLJ 1996 Cr.C. (Q) 713, Jalal-ud-Din.
F.I.R. treated as dying declaration. Large number of persons present when F.I.R. cum-dying declaration recorded. Possibility that prepared statement was put in the mouth of the deceased. Statement supported by his brother alone. Benefit of doubt given to the accused. (SC) 1969 P.Cr. LJ 317 Usman Shah etc.
Dying declaration not attested by witnesses would not affect the veracity of the declaration nor the fact that the deceased was under the apprehension of death, when he made the statement. Held, FIR after the death of the deceased assumed the character of dying declaration and can be made basis of conviction. PLJ 1994 Head Notes 41, Sbir etc.
F.I.R. as dying declaration may not require independent corroboration when there is no reason for substitution of real culprit. 1981 SCMR 61. Niamat Ali.
Dying declaration not made at police station is often found more reliable than one made in the presence of the police, where also the relatives who brought the injured man to thana are generally present and usually cannot be prevented from putting a prepared case through the mouth of the deponent. (SC) PLD 1966 SC 264, Ghulam Farid.
Dying declaration recorded at Police Station in presence of relatives is always doubtful. NLR 1982 Cr. 217. Sultan Khan.
Dying declaration recorded at police station in presence of relatives of the deceased is always suspect and less worthy of credence than one recorded by a Magistrate after excluding relatives. (SC) 1977 SCMR 72. Waheed-ud-Din v. Allah Ditta etc.
Negligent omission of police officer to follow relevant rules or that of defence counsel to question him at the trial cannot affect veracity of dying declaration. (DB) PLD 1978 Lah. 507 Mumtaz Ahmed.
Dying declaration recorded by police officer, in hospital in the presence of a doctor and a nurse both attesting it; the doctor and nurse giving evidence that the dying declaration was recorded in their presence; no suggestion of ill-will or cause against the accused, the dying declaration was accepted in evidence. (DB) PLD 1969 Dac. 189 State v. Aftab Ali.
Attested by police constable. Dying declaration attested by a police constable not relied upon. (SC) PLD 1977 SC 612 Zarif Khan.
Dying declaration recorded under section 161, held, not hit by section 162 and also held to be good piece of evidence. (DB) 1969 P.Cr.LJ 482 Karam Din.
Dying declaration recorded by police, two police stock witnesses mentioned therein, who were disbelieved by the Court; dying declaration not relied on (SC) 1972 SCMR 40. Akhtar Hussain.
Not a dying declaration. Statement of the deceased not recorded in the presence of the doctor, nor through a Magistrate or any other independent official; such statement recorded by A.S.I. police held a statement under section 161, Cr.P.C. 1976 P.Cr. LJ 545 Abdul Majid.
Dying declaration of co-accused is admissible. (SC) 1969 SCMR 647 Kirir v. Crown. 1969 P.Cr.LJ 1253.
Dying declaration and circumstances. The expression "In regard to any of the circumstances which resulted in his death", includes also the circumstances in which dying declarant's companion may have been done to death in the course of the same transaction. PLD 1978 SC 298 Muhammad Aslam.
Value of Dying Declaration: For proper evaluation of the dying declaration the surrounding circumstances in which the same was made and its contents have to be kept in view. To impart veracity to dying declaration it is necessary that the declarant should be free from external influence and not crowded around by unauthorised persons when making the statement. According to doctor the deceased was not in full possession of senses and was surrounded by six persons. Dying declaration not relied upon. 1994 SCMR 1852, Farman Bibi.
Value of dying declaration. Dying declaration is in any case a weak kind of evidence being not tested by cross-examination and the only good reason for accepting it usually is the feeling that the person in immediate danger of death is unlikely to speak a falsehood. (DB) 1975 P.Cr.LJ 590 = PLJ 1975 Cr.C. (Kar.) 560 Raziq Dino.
Value of dying declaration. A dying declaration recording the very words of dying man unassisted by interested persons is most valuable evidence, but if parts are supplied by interested persons or police officers it is "touched up" declaration with no value. AIR 1934 Lah. 805 Dial v. Emperor.
Weight of dying declaration. Value of dying declaration depends on the circumstances surrounding the making of the statement and the authenticity of the record. Where there were five conflicting versions of the declaration, held it would be unsafe to rely on any part of such dying declaration. (DB) PLD 1962 Dac. 418 Omar Ali.
Credibility of dying declaration. Believing or disbelieving a witness is a question of merely" or dinary human judgment". Aids to formation of such judgment are not available in the case of a dying declaration. To accept such statement without considering "surrounding circumstances" is "totally inconsistent with safe dispensation of justice". Accepting such statements on considerations of opinion expressed in precedent cases regarding similar declaration, accompanied by words indicating reliance on "some principle of law, held to be "no less dangerous"; "careful scrutiny, applied to all physical circumstances" appearing from evidence, only way of arriving at conclusion that the statement is "worthy of belief". (SC) PLD 1965 SC 151. Abdul Razak.
Dying declaration not relied upon when is maker remained with his relatives before making the statement and the statement was recorded by the police officer and not signed by the doctor. PLJ 1989 Cr.C.(Lah.) 414. Abdul Majid.
Dying declaration not relied upon when it was found neither true nor corroborated by any other evidence nor fully proved according to law. PLJ 1995 Cr.C. (Pesh) 375 (D.B) Banaras.
Close security required for dying declaration as it is recorded in absence of the accused and it must be considered in all its surrounding circumstances. (DB) NLR 1984 Cr. 80. Muhammad Anwar.
Test for genuineness of dying declaration. The value of dying declaration depends on the facts of each case. Some of the main tests for determining the genuineness of dying declaration are:
(i) Whether intrinsically it rings true.
(ii) Whether there is no chance of mistake by the dying man in identifying or naming his assailants.
(iii) Whether it is free from prompting from any outside quarter and is not inconsistent with the other evidence and facts of the case. (DB) PLD 1963 Pesh. 66 Zabta Khan. (DB) 1970 P.Cr.LJ 1164 Abdul Aziz.
Some conditions for determining genuineness of a dying declaration are:
(1) Whether maker of dying declaration had requisite capacity to make dying statement.
(2) Whether had opportunity to recognise assailant.
(3) Whether there were chances of mistake on the part of dying person.
(4) Whether it was free from prompting by any outside quarters.
(5) Whether the witness who heard the deceased making his statement heard him correctly and whether his evidence can be relied upon. PLJ 1996 Shariat Court (AJK) 299, Muhammad Suleman etc.
Weak kind of evidence. Dying declaration is a weak kind of evidence as it is not tested by cross-examination. (DB) 1975 P.Cr.LJ 590 = PLJ 1975 Cr.C. (Kar.) 560 Razik Dino. (DB) PLD 1978 Kar. 792. Aman Ullah.
Dying declaration would be relevant even if the maker at the time when he made the statement was not under expectation of death and he had no reason to substitute the accused for real culprit. (DB) PLD 1994 Pesh. 114, Sabir etc.
Dying declaration requires close scrutiny like the statement of an interested witness. However, if it rings true conviction can be based solely on it. 1992 P.Cr.LJ 384. Ghulam Habib v. Rahim Gul.
Requires close scrutiny. No rigid rule can be laid down that the person under immediate apprehension of death would utter nothing but truth. Dying declaration like statements of interested witnesses requires close scrutiny. (SC) PLD 1970 SC 13 Tawaib Khan. (DB) PLD 1972 Pesh. 27 Iftikhar. (DB) PLD 1974 Kar. 91 Ghulam Hussain.
Corroboration needed. Dying declaration is not at par with evidence given in Court. It cannot be corroborated by interested evidence of 3 P.Ws. though injured. Multiplicity of interested testimony does not convert it into unalloyed truth. (DB) 1970 P.Cr.LJ 619 Ghulam Jilani.
It is essential to look for corroboration in respect of each accused before dying declaration can be acted upon. When no corroboration found conviction set aside. (DB) 1970 P.Cr.LJ 1080 Nazar Hussain.
Dying declaration when undoubtedly a statement of interested person, it requires corroboration (SC) 1972 SCMR 651 Sher Bahadur. (SC) 1978 SCMR 303 Muhammad Yasin.
Dying declaration when coming from an interested and inimical person cannot corroborate solitary oral evidence not giving true account of the occurrence. PLJ 1984 Cr.C. (Lah.) 95. Muhammad Afzal etc.
Whether deceased capable of making dying declaration and difference of opinion. Difference of opinion between doctor recording dying declaration and the doctor holding post-mortem examination, in regard to deceased's ability to talk after receiving fatal injury on neck. Out of caution the Court disregarded the dying declaration. (DB) PLD 1962 Dac. 278. Nawab Ali.
Not capable of making declaration. Wound puncturing liver, lung, stomach etc. held, victim not capable of making any declaration. (DB) AIR 1938 Lah. 268 Dharam Singh v. Emperor.
Dying declaration unlikely to have been made after the receipt of injury to the brain, according to doctor. Dying declaration not relied upon. 1985 SCMR 505. Muhammad Banaras v. Shah Fakhar Zaman.
Victim unable to speak, answering question by nodding of head. Such signs considered as verbal statement alongwith the questions and admissible as dying declaration. (DB) ILR 1924 (5) Lah. 305 Ranga v. Crown 84 IC 552.
Possibility of tutoring. All eye-witnesses were present in hospital when dying declaration was being recorded. Possibility that deceased was tutored by them could not be ruled out. Dying declaration not relied on. (SC) PLD 1970 SC 406 Muhammad Latif v. Muhammad Hussain etc. (SC) 1978 SCMR 303 Muhammad Yasin.
Tutored dying declaration; doctor stating that the relatives of the deceased were present and were talking to the deceased, possibility of the dying declaration being tutored not ruled out. 1988 SCMR 1537 Mst. Khursheed Begam v. Tariq etc.
Dying declaration in presence of relatives of the deceased at police station is not worthy of credence. 1984 SCMR 1092 Nazim Khan.
Dying declaration recorded in presence of eye-witnesses and absence of doctor and without his certificate about the fitness of the victim and the declaration a verbatim copy of other statements, held such statement loses sanctity and is unreliable. PLJ 1987 Cr.C. (Lah.) 376 Ghulam Nabi etc.
6 persons present with deceased when dying declaration recorded in the absence of medical officer. Deceased died after 68 days. I.O. made no effort to get the dying declaration recorded by a Magistrate. Enmity between parties existing. Such dying declaration not considered. 1988 SCMR 1301 Muhammad Siddiq.
Prompting. Dying declaration recorded in presence of deceased's relatives, thereby not ruling out probability of prompting. Dying declaration not relied on. (SC) 1972 SCMR 574 Khan Zaman v. Kachkol.
Tutoring. Investigating Officer not taking precaution of excluding relatives, of deceased while recording statement. Dying declaration not relied on. (SC) 1973 SCMR 26 Muhammad Abdullah v. Muhammad Safdar.
Persons talking to injured when he made dying declaration considerably detracts from the veracity of that statement. (SC) PLD 1977 SC 41 Mehr Khan. PLJ 1977 SC 98.
Not in camera. No law exists to hold dying declaration in camera. Dying declaration has to be voluntary, spontaneous and unprompted as to the cause of his approaching death. (SC) PLD 1977 SC 41 Mehr Khan. PLJ 1977 SC 98.
Deceased himself interested partisan and hostile, his dying declaration cannot be relied upon without corroboration from unimpeachable source. (DB) PLD 1976 Lah. 520 Muhammad Ashraf. PLJ 1976 Lah. 300.
Enmity between accused and deceased, held dying declaration requires corroboration. (DB) PLD 1966 Pesh. 255 Ghulam Hussain. 1970 P.Cr. LJ 619 Ghulam Jilani. 1972 P.Cr.LJ 1012 Kazim Hussain.
Interested dying declaration cannot be corroborated by an interested witness. (DB) PLD 1968 Pesh. 47 Ali Asghar.
Dying declaration of interested person in presence of witnesses inimical to accused, such declaration not acceptable without independent corroboration. (DB) PLJ 1978 Cr.C. (Lah.) 199 Muhammad Shafi.
Precise expression. Prosecution should bring on record precise expression used by the deceased. (DB) 1970 P.Cr.LJ 751 Sultan.
Maker's language. Language of the dying declaration should be that of the maker, otherwise a certificate under section 364, Cr.P.C. should be given i.e. the statement read over in the language of the maker who admitted it as correct. Failure to comply with the above provisions makes the declaration doubtful. (DB) 1970 P.Cr.LJ 1292 Rehmat Bakhsh.
Dying declaration recorded in English is admissible when certified by the recording officer that it was translated to the declarant in his own language, admitted to be correct and signed or thumb marked by him. (DB) 1970 P.Cr.LJ 1292 Rehmat Bakhsh.
Need not be in writing. Dying declaration need not to be in writing or signed by deceased or by the Investigating Officer. (SC) PLD 1974 (SC) 87, State v. Rab Nawaz.
Oral dying declaration made by deceased to his father on the basis of which F.I.R. was made relied upon. (DB) NLR 1982 Cr. 143 Zia-ud-Din etc.
is as good as written one. There is no law that dying declaration can be accepted only when it is recorded. Dying declaration recorded by 3rd Class Magistrate is admissible in evidence. PLD 1978 SC 298. Muhammad Aslam.
Oral dying declaration is admissible in evidence. It is not mandatory that dying declaration should be recorded by a Magistrate. Close scrutiny of a dying declaration is necessary like statement of an interested witness. In scutinising contents of a dying declaration great cautiousness is required as the maker of the declaration is not subjected to cross-examination. PLJ 1996 Shariat Court (AJK) 299, Muhammad Suleman etc.
Non-recording of dying declaration is not fatal to the prosecution. Dying declaration can be oral. 1996 SCMR 1747, Muhammad Ashraf Khan Tareen.
By Signs. Signs made by the dying woman in answer to questions put to her as to the circumstances under which the injuries were inflicted on her were admitted as statements within the meaning of this clause, as she was then unable to speak but was conscious and able to make signs. (FB) 7 All. 385 Emperor v. Abdullah. (DB) ILR 1924 (5) Lah. 305 Ranga v. Crown.
Prompt and in detail. Prompt dying declaration and in detail, no time for fabrication or prompting by friends. Nothing improbable in story either. Held, such dying declaration was strongest piece of evidence in the case. (DB) 1970 P.Cr.LJ 373 Ashiq.
No details. Deceased being grievously injured is not likely to give details. Dying declaration corroborated by circumstantial evidence relied upon. (SC) 1975 SCMR 460 Hussain Khan.
Dying declaration is implicitly reliable when recorded by a Magistrate complying with mandatory provisions of law and it also being without malice, although unsigned and without detail. 976 Lah. 165 Allah Bakhsh.
How to prove. When proving a dying declaration the Magistrate need not repeat the record seriatim in his evidence. It is sufficient to merely refer to the record and testify to its correctness. 7 Lah. 91 Partap v. Emperor AIR 1930 Lah. 450 Kapur v. Emperor. The usual method of proving dying declaration is to examine the persons who recorded the statement, or to examine some person or persons who were present at the time and heard the statement being made. AIR 1930 Cal. 228 Tafiz v. Emperor.
Recording Magistrate not produced in the Court to prove it, held, not admissible in evidence. (DB) PLD 1976 Lah. 1240 Rab Nawaz.
Dying declaration proved. Rickshaw called in by the injured person to carry him home bearing blood marks, proof of dying declaration by the rickshaw driver supported by two policemen. Dying declaration held proved. (SC) PLD 1975 SC 275 = PLJ 1975 SC 250, Abdul Rehman.
Whether dying declaration is admissible is for the prosecution to prove. The provisions of section 32, Evidence Act are in the nature of exceptions. When there is nothing to show that the injury to which a statement related was the cause of the injured person's death, or the circumstances under which it was received resulted in his death, the statement is not admissible under section 32 (i), Evidence Act. (DB) 45 Cr.LJ 71 Abdul Ghani v. Emperor.
Injury not proved to be fatal. Nothing to show that the injury to which the dying declaration related was the cause of the deponent's death. Held, such statement not admissible under section 32 (1) and discarded. 1977 P.Cr.LJ 608 Kaki and another.
Falsehood included. Dying declaration shown to include falsities cannot be relied on. (DB) 1971 P.Cr.LJ 1089 Ghaus Muhammad.
Dying declaration when not quite consistent with prosecution case as set out by eye-witnesses is to be treated with care and caution. PLJ 1984 SC 403. Nizam Khan.
Stock witness mentioned.Dying declaration recorded by police mentioning therein two stock police witnesses and these witnesses disbelieved by Courts. Dying declaration held to be defective. (SC) 1972 SCMR 40 Akhtar Ali Hussain.
Contrary to medical evidence. Dying declaration contrary to medical evidence disbelieved. (SC) 1972 SCMR 578 Darey Khan etc. 1979 P.Cr.LJ 1225 Jamal.
Not signed. Mere fact that the dying declaration was neither signed by its maker nor giving details as to the motive or the incident, would not detract from the authenticity of such statement. (DB) 1976 P.Cr.LJ 1272 Allah Bakhsh etc.
No signature of deceased. Dying declaration as deposed to by witnesses discrepant and bearing no signature of deceased not relied upon. (DB) PLD 1965 Kar. 76 Budho.
Evidence of eye-witnesses in conflict with dying declaration regarding some co-accused; held, conflict does not affect case against rest of the co-accused, (SC) 1969 P.Cr.LJ 1065 Mamman v. Crown.
Doctor's certificate on dying declaration is not legal requirement. Doctor's signature on dying declaration is enough. (DB) 1971 P.Cr.LJ 474 Taurgul.
Dying declaration not endorsed by doctor does not affect it s credibility when it is free from suspicion and is believed to be true. (DB) NLR 1983 Cr. 33. Lal Zarif.
Dying declaration recorded in hospital and not certified by the doctor could not be relied upon. PLJ 1996 Shariat Court (AJK) 299, Muhammad Suleman etc.
Made to a doctor. Dying declaration made to a doctor and statement brought on record from committing Court to trial Court filed under section 509, Cr.P.C., held is not admissible. AIR 1940 Oudh 20 (211) Waris Khan v. Emperor. (DB) AIR 1943 Lah. 101 (103) Nand Singh v. Emperor. 1972 P.Cr.LJ 416 Mohabat etc. ILR 1944 Lah. 67 Nand Singh v. Emperor.
Doctors's certificate not obtained by Police officer before recording statement of the deceased who was in injured condition, as to whether the injured was in a fit state of health to make the statement. Held, statement of deceased could not be relied upon. PLJ 1997 S.C. 1170, Mst. Ghulam Zohra v. Malik Muhammad Sadiq etc.
Dying declaration made in hospital after doctor's certificate for fitness obtained, held dying declaration a strong piece of evidence against accused. (DB) PLJ 1987 Cr.C. (Lah.) 466. Muhammad Siddiq.
Doctor not present when dying declaration recorded, the deceased not mentioning any injury in his statement held, dying declaration highly doubtful and ruled out of consideration. (DB) PLJ 1984 Cr.C. (Lah.) 475. Abdul Majid.
Post-mortem report is covered by word "statement" in section 32 of Evidence Act. Entries in post-mortem report can be proved by a person acquainted with the hand writing of the doctor who wrote the report. (DB) PLD 1970 Lah. 735 Shera. (FB) 1975 P.Cr.LJ 957 = PLJ 1975 Cr.C. (Lah.) 125 Muhammad Khan.
Identification of the accused. Deceased naming three assailants in the dying declaration. Deceased shot from behind in darkness; identification of culprits doubtful. Dying declaration not relied on. (SC) PLD 1965 SC 151 Abdul Razik.
Dying declaration not dependent on section 164, Cr.P.C. It may be oral. The provisions of section 32, Evid. Act are not circumscribed by the provisions of section 164, Cr.C.(FC) PLD 1951 FC 111 Allah Bakhsh v. Crown 1969 SCMR 606 = 1969 P.Cr.LJ 1160 Anayat Ullah v. Crown.
Notes in personal diary kept by the deceased indicating the motive, previous attempt on life of the deceased were held admissible. Motive for the crime is one of the "circumstances" of the transaction provided it is sufficiently proximate in point of time and sequence, a declaration about the motive is therefore admissible (DB) PLD 1956 Lah. 300 Crown v. Abdul Ghani.
"Fact in issue". Dying declaration can be admitted in evidence to prove "fact in issue" and `relevant fact'. (SC) PLD 1973 SC 609 Ayoob.
By a Punjab. Dying declaration by the inhabitants of the Punjab is unsafe to base conviction on without corroboration. (DB) AIR 1925 Lah. 549 Bakhshish Singh v. Emperor.
Accepted or rejected as a whole. Dying declaration must be accepted or rejected as a whole. (DB) PLD 1958 Lah. 242 Rang Ali. (DB) PLD 1964 Pesh. 67 Abdul Raziq.
Conviction can be based on dying declaration alone. PLD 1991 SC 923. Muhammad Akbar etc.
Conviction can be maintained on dying declaration alone. Corroboration is required as a matter of caution. Motive and medical evidence held enough corroboration. (DB) PLJ 1975 Cr.C. (Lah.) 441 Hazara etc.
Dying declaration is sufficient to maintain conviction provided following conditions are fulfilled:-
(1) Whether there was no chance of mistaken identity?
(2) Whether deceased was capable of making statement?
(3) After how long time after sustaining injury deceased made his statement?
(4) Whether statement rings true?
(5) Whether it was free from prompting from out side?
(6) Whether deceased and a man of questionable character?
PLJ 1997 Cr.C. (Pesh.) 592 (D.B.) Abdul Rahim.
Sole basis for conviction. Sanctity is attached to a dying declaration by the statute, and it is to be respected unless clear circumstances brought out showing it not to be reliable. No absolute rule can be laid down regarding dying declaration not forming sole basis of conviction unless corroborated. (SC) PLD 1977 SC 612 Zarif Khan.
When conviction to be based on. Dying declaration found genuine and true conviction can be based on. Tests for true dying declaration are: (i) Whether it rings true (ii) whether there is no chance of mistake in identification or in naming the accused by the dying man (iii) whether it is free from outside prompting. (DB) PLD 1963 Pesh. 66 Zabta Khan.
Conviction on dying declaration only. Conviction can solely be based on the evidence of dying declaration which stands on same footing as evidence of any witness. Great care should however be taken in assessing the value of a dying declaration which is not subjected to cross-examination. (DB) 1969 P.Cr.LJ 674 Chakman Molla. (DB) PLD 1966 Dac. 400 Abdul Rashid. (DB) PLD 1963 Pesh. 66 Zabta Khan.