Honour Killing Case: Plea Filed Before SC To Decide If Voice Notes Can Be Dying Declaration

A petition has been filed in the Supreme Court recently to examine if video and audio notes can be treated as dying declarations.

The petition challenged the Rajasthan High Court’s refusal to a plea seeking a court-monitored investigation or a CBI probe into an alleged honour killing case.

Uma Paliwal, the petitioner, has highlighted several concerns about whether a video shot by a victim following an assault may be deemed a dying declaration.

The case involves a worker for Vishakha, an NGO that works on issues of violence against women, who was violently assaulted by her family members in May 2022. She recorded a dying declaration that she would be killed that day, but she was discovered dead the next morning. Her body was cremated without contacting the police or conducting a post-mortem examination.

According to the affidavit filed by the Rajasthan Police before the High Court, because the voice notes and video were not recorded in front of a doctor, police officer, or magistrate, they cannot be regarded a dying declaration.

The petition before the Supreme Court challenges the chargesheet, which fails to explain the cause of death and the family members’ hurry in disposing of the victim’s body without telling the police.

The petitioner contended that the police overlooked the victim’s story, which emphasized her fear of death.

“The police have conveniently believed the version of the family members and other witnesses while making a mockery of the dying declaration and relegating it as a hyperbole,” the petition added.