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Criminal Appeal No. 22 of 1968, decided on 27th November 1969.
(On appeal from the judgment and order of the High Court of West Pakistan, Lahore, dated the 27th April 1967, in Criminal Appeal No. 378 of 1966/Murder Reference No. 118 of 1966).
S. 288‑--Statement of witness, recorded by committing Court, once admitted in evidence under S. 288‑A substantial piece of evidence‑Statement found genuine and true ‑Can form sound basis for conviction. of accus ed‑Witness at trial resilbig from his previous statement made before committing Court‑Placing reliance on evidence admitted under S. 288‑Court to seek corroboration from some independent source although law does not require such corroboration‑Each case to be decided on its own facts.
Once the statement of a witness recorded by the committing Court is admitted into evidence under section 288, Cr. P. C., it becomes a piece of substantive evidence for all purposes with no difference with any other piece of substantive evidence led in the case. If the statement is found to be genuine and true, it can form a sound basis for conclusion of guilt or innocence of an accused person. There is no rule of law and none need be imported, that while such a statement is believed to be trust worthy and honest, it must still require corroboration to make it acceptable to be relied upon. However, as a rule of prudence, the superior Courts in this country have laid down from time to time that since a witness who makes one statement before a committing Court and conveniently changes it at the trial stands self‑condemned as a liar, his former statement transferred under section 288, Cr. P. C. cannot be unreservedly accepted with implicit faith and hence the need for its corroboration by some independent source. Each case, however, has to be decided on its own facts and each statement transferred in a case under section 288, Cr. P. C. has to be adjudged on its own merits in the context of all the circumstances of the crime.
M. Siddiq, Senior Attorney for Appellant.
Dilawar Mahmood, Assistant Advocate‑General West Pakistan instructed by Ijaz Ali, Attorney for the State.
Date of hearing: 27th November 1969.
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