The Law Relating to Evidence of an Accomplice
By
Sudhir Chandra Roy
Although the law relating to an Accomplice is apparently intricate, the leading principles can clearly be grasped on a careful perusal of the following references :
An accomplice shall be a competent witness against an accused person, and a conviction is not illegal, merely because it proceeds upon the uncorroborated testimony of an accomplice : S. 133, Evidence Act.
The Court may presume that an accomplice is unworthy of credit, unless he is corroborated in material particulars : Evidence Act, S. 114, Illustration (b).
The illustration is more respected by Courts, and rightly too, than S. 133, Evidence Act, which has taken its rightful place, by being put into cold storage. ‘Kamala Prasad v. Sital Prasad’, 28 Cal 339; Siar Nonia v. King-Emperor, 18 Cal WN 550.
In my opinion, S. 133, Evidence Act, should be redrafted and enacted as follows :
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