Can an accused be considered a competent witness?

Question: Can an accused be considered a competent witness? [MPHJS 2012]

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Answer

According to Section 118 of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872 any person who is not disabled from understanding the questions put to him due to his extreme elderly age or tender years or childhood can be a competent witness in a court of law.

This provision entails that any person irrespective of his nature and role in the trial can be a witness. Therefore, an accused is a competent witness according to the Evidence Act.

This is also contemplated under Section 315 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (hereinafter ‘CrPC’). This provision avers that a person who is accused of an offence can be a competent witness for the defence and may be examined in a court of law under oath.

This section lays down that an accused person is a competent witness for the defence and like any other witness he is entitled to give evidence on oath in disproof of the case laid against him by the prosecution. It further provides that the Court cannot draw any adverse inference from his non-examination as a witness.

But if an accused voluntarily examines himself as a defence witness, the prosecution is entitled to further examine him and such evidence can be used against the co-accused. No adverse inference can be drawn against an accused person who does not enter the witness box. It is basic criminal jurisprudence that an accused person cannot be compelled to be a witness. Thus, no adverse inference can be drawn against the defence merely because an accused person has chosen to abstain from the witness box.

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