Overview
- The Supreme Court set aside the Allahabad High Court order and restored summons to the deceased woman’s in-laws in a Uttar Pradesh shooting case.
- It clarified that courts deciding Section 319 CrPC applications must not test credibility or weigh probative value and should ask only whether the record reasonably indicates involvement.
- The Court held that a statement need not be made under the expectation of imminent death to qualify as a dying declaration under Section 32(1) of the Evidence Act.
- The bench said lack of a magistrate’s presence or a doctor’s contemporaneous fitness certification does not, by itself, invalidate a dying declaration.
- Objections such as alleged tutoring, omissions in the FIR, and inconsistencies were deemed premature, and the parties were directed to appear before the trial court.