Delhi court convicts man of attempt to murder charge on complainant’s sole testimony

New Delhi, Aug 18 (PTI) A court here has convicted a man of attempt to murder charge, saying conviction can be based on the sole testimony of a witness and it is the quality of the deposition that counts, not the number of witnesses.

Additional Sessions Judge Vishal Pahuja was hearing the case against accused Roshan Kumar against whom the Safdarjung Enclave police had registered an FIR under Indian Penal Code (IPC) Section 307 (attempt to murder).

According to the prosecution, Kumar inflicted grievous stab wounds on the complainant Shankar Mukhia on July 22, 2022 in the Hauz Khas village.

In the order, the court said Mukhia’s testimony was a clinching piece of evidence which stood the test of cross-examination and remained consistent throughout.

“This witness narrated the entire episode of the assault vividly as to how the accused came to him with a knife in his hand and while threatening to kill him, the accused gave knife blows twice and one knife blow on his abdomen,” it said.

The court rejected the argument of the defence counsel that conviction cannot be based upon the complainant’s sole testimony, without corroboration by any independent public witness.

It said, “The accused can be held guilty on the basis of the testimony of sole witness however, the testimony has to be convincing and beyond any embellishment. It is the quality of the witness that matters instead of the quantity.”

From the circumstances of the case, the manner of committing the offence and the kind of weapon used, the intention of the accused was to cause the complainant’s death, the court said.

Underlining that there was cogent evidence before it, the court said the prosecution had successfully proved the case against the accused.

“Accordingly, the accused namely Roshan Kumar stands convicted for the offence under Section 307 of the IPC,” it said.

The court has posted the matter on August 22 for filing of income and asset affidavit of the convict, following which the arguments on sentencing will be heard.