The Supreme Court has observed that just because a person was educated and said to be God-fearing, it cannot be said that the person had a positive reputation.
The Bench of Justice MM Sundresh and Justice JB Pardiwala made these observations on Friday, while setting aside the Himachal Pradesh High Court order, which noted that since the Prosecution Witness (PW) 1 was an educated and God-fearing person, his testimony had to be accepted.
The Apex Court held that the conduct of the witness under Section 8 of the Evidence Act was important to determine and prove the reputation of a witness.
It noted that the High Court had misconstrued the concept of reputation and ‘blindly’ believed the evidence of PW1 on the grounds that character and reputation did have an element of interconnectivity. Reputation was predicated on the general traits of character. In other words, character may be subsumed into reputation.
The top court of the country held that courts were not expected to get carried away by the mere background of a person, especially while acting as an appellate forum, when his conduct, being a relevant fact, created serious doubt.
The conduct of a witness under Section 8 of the Evidence Act was a relevant fact to decide, determine and prove the reputation of a witness, it said, adding that when the conduct indicated that it was unnatural from the perspective of normal human behaviour, the so-called reputation took a back seat.
It noted that the trial court had given substantial reasons for its order of acquittal and that the prosecution had failed to establish the charges beyond reasonable doubt.
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