What if one of the witnesses does not support my case in court in evidence

[Anonymous]

At the time of filing the case with police I had mentioned names of 3 persons who had witnessed the incident. They gave statements to police during investigation. Now case may come up for trial. But one these witnesses is not willing to support my case and he said that he would not go to court and if forced to go to court he would not support my case. Will it affect my case in court if one witness does not support my case?

[Dr. Ashok Dhamija]

Section 134 of the Evidence Act provides that no particular number of witnesses shall in any case be required for the proof of any fact. This means that even one witness may be sufficient to prove a particular fact. Of course, the credibility of the witness (i.e., whether he is an independent witness or an interested witness) may also be relevant for this purpose.

In view of the above, even if one witness becomes hostile and does not support your case, you still have two other witnesses to support the case in addition to your own evidence. This should generally be sufficient to prove the case. Of course, your own witness becoming hostile will adversely affect the case since it casts doubt on the case. But, if other witnesses are supporting your case and if they are consistent in their evidence, it may generally speaking be sufficient to prove your case.

     

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Dr. Ashok Dhamija is a New Delhi based Supreme Court Advocate and author of law books. Read more about him by clicking here. List of his Forum Replies. List of his other articles. List of his Quora Answers. List of his YouTube Videos.

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