Dying Declaration and its various aspects under Indian Evidence Act: An Overview.

Abstract

Dying Declaration is a statement made by a person who is conscious and knows that death is imminent concerning what he or she believes to be the cause or circumstances of death that can be introduced into evidence during a trial in certain cases. A dying declaration is considered credible and trustworthy evidence based upon the general belief that most people who know that they are about to die do not lie. As a result, it is an exception to the Hearsay Rule, which restrict the use of a statement made by someone other than the person who repeats it while testifying during a trial, because of its inherent untrustworthiness. If the person who made the dying declaration had the slightest hope of recovery, no matter how unreasonable, the statement is not admissible into evidence. A person who makes a Dying Declaration must, however, be competent at the time he or she makes a statement, otherwise, it is inadmissible.
A dying declaration is usually introduced by the prosecution, but can be used on behalf of

the accused. As a general rule, courts refuse to admit dying declarations in civil cases, even those for Wrongful Death, or in criminal actions for crimes other than the Homicide of the decedent.
A dying Declaration is fairly well crystal by judicial decisions. But before it is relied on, it must pass a test of reliability as it is a statement made in the absence of the accused and there is no opportunity to the accused even to put it through the fire of cross-examination to test it genuineness or veracity.