Nimai Ghosh vs State of Bihar (now Jharkhand) 2025 INSC 816 - Eyewitness Testimony

Law of Evidence - As a general rule, to prove the case of the prosecution, the testimony of eyewitness primarily ought to be considered and be relied upon to prove the guilt of the accused- The testimony of the eyewitness must be trustworthy, free from any kind of blemish and of sterling character to prove the incident, whereby the case of the prosecution may be proved beyond reasonable doubt- The quality of evidence brought to prove the guilt is a relevant factor and not the quality of the witnesses. The testimony of those witnesses either proves the case as alleged by the prosecution or otherwise. Sometimes, the testimony of the eyewitness is found unbelievable and can be discarded. To adjudge the credibility of the said testimony, relevant factor would be the conduct of the witness indicating the natural reaction comparable to a prudent man, making the conduct of witness realistic- If a friend or relative is accompanying the deceased at the time of incident, action taken by the witness is a relevant factor to save him. Moreover, in addition, at the time of incident and immediately after commission of the offence, what steps were taken by the eyewitness to save the life of the deceased. Whether the eyewitness left the place of occurrence and returned the place of incident simpliciter without furnishing information to the police or intimating the relatives/friends/near dear ones becomes relevant. In case, the eyewitness does not convey any information about the incident to anyone which is not expected from a prudent man, his conduct does not appear to be natural of a human being. The time of furnishing information to the police at the earliest by eyewitness is one of the relevant factors to dislodge the plea of belated FIR, therefore, the conduct of an eyewitness should be reflected like a real image in a mirror, thereby making his testimony reliable to prove the guilt of the accused. (Para 16-17)