Mitesh Vaghela v. State of Gujarat
Supreme Court of India2026 INSC 469Bench: Justice Aravind Kumar and Justice Prasanna B. Varale
The Supreme Court reaffirmed the long-settled but frequently revisited principle that a dying declaration which is found to be voluntary, truthful and reliable can by itself form the sole basis of conviction without any necessity of independent corroboration. The Court held that the law does not impose any rule, either of prudence or of policy, requiring corroboration of a dying declaration as a precondition to conviction; what the law requires is that the court satisfy itself, upon close scrutiny, that the declaration was made by a person who was in a fit mental state to make it, that it was not the product of tutoring, prompting or imagination, and that it inspires full confidence. Where these tests are met, the dying declaration acquires a sanctity that the law attaches to it on the principle nemo moriturus praesumitur mentire — no person who is about to die is presumed to lie. The Bench reiterated that even though a Magistrate's certification of fitness adds weight, its absence is not by itself fatal where the medical record and surrounding circumstances independently establish the declarant's competence. Applying these principles to the case, the Court found that the dying declaration recorded twenty-eight years ago was clear, consistent, made before a competent recorder, supported by medical certification of fitness, and unshaken in cross-examination through other witnesses. The conviction under Section 302 IPC was therefore upheld.