Evidence of family members in a case of dowry death should not be discarded because they are considered interested witnesses: Supreme Court

In a recent order, the Supreme Court (SC) of India held that evidence of family members in a case of dowry death should not be discarded because they are considered interested witnesses. The bench further stated that if the evidence from family members is not accepted in dowry death cases then there would be no reliable witness to testify in such cases. In this context, the two-judge bench constituting Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice SVN Bhatti observed, “A lady facing harassment and cruelty owing to her or her family’s failure to meet dowry demands would more often than not confide in her immediate family members. If the evidence of the family members in a case of dowry death is to be discarded on the ground that they are interested witnesses, we wonder who would be the reliable witness to testify for bringing the culprit to book.” These observations were made by the top court while remitting a case to the trial court for a fresh decision on the question ‘whether the husband can be convicted for the dowry death of his late wife’. During the proceedings, Advocate Mr. Ashwin V. Kotemath, Advocate-on-Record Ms. K. V. Bharathi Upadhyaya, Senior Advocate Mr. Shailesh Madiyal, Advocate-on-Record Mr. Mahesh Thakur, Advocate Mr. Vaibhav Sabarwal, Advocate Ms. Anusha R, Advocate Ms. Mythili Srinivasmurthy, Advocate Mr. Ranvijay Singh Chandel, and Advocate Mr. Shivamm Sharrma appeared for the husband and in-laws of the deceased. Advocate-on-Record Mr. D. L. Chidananda appeared on behalf of the State of Karnataka.