Madhya Pradesh v. Ramesh
Supreme Court of India2011 INSC 221; MANU/SC/0255/2011; (2011) 4 SCC 786Bench: J. R.V. Raveendran, J. A.K. Patnaik
The Supreme Court held that there is no legal rule requiring mandatory corroboration of a child victim's testimony in sexual assault cases. A conviction can rest on the sole uncorroborated testimony of the child victim if the court is satisfied that: (1) the child is a reliable and credible witness, (2) the testimony is consistent and natural, (3) there are no material contradictions, and (4) the account is not inherently improbable. However, the court may look for corroboration as a matter of prudence (not legal requirement) in cases where the child is very young or the testimony appears discrepant.