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    Question

    Which of the following statements is

    correct?
    A All facts must be provided by documentary evidence only Correct Answer Incorrect Answer
    B In offence of dowry death the presumption of guilt is invoked against accused Correct Answer Incorrect Answer
    C Expert opinion is binding on Court Correct Answer Incorrect Answer
    D An accomplice is not a competent witness against an accused Correct Answer Incorrect Answer

    Solution

    Option 1 - Proof of contents of documents. –– The contents of documents may be proved either by primary or by secondary evidence. Option 2- Section 113B Presumption as to dowry death. ––-When the question is whether a person has committed the dowry death of a woman and it is shown that soon before her death such woman had been subjected by such person to cruelty or harassment for, or in connection with, any demand for dowry, the court shall presume that such person had caused the dowry death. Option 3- The Act only provides about the relevancy of expert opinion but gives no guidance as to its value.The value of expert opinion has to be viewed in light of various adverse factors There is danger of error or deliberate falsehood Evidence given by experts is ‘opinion’ and human judgement is fallible An expert witness may be unconsciously prejudiced in favour of the side which calls him There are two aspects of the expert evidence- Data evidence and Opinion evidence. Data evidence are accepted until they vary the oral evidence Opinion evidence is drawn from the data and it would not get precedence over the direct eyewitness testimony unless the inconsistency between the two is so great as to falsify the oral evidence Expert witness must be corroborated either by direct evidence or by circumstantial evidence Option 4 – Section 113 of Evidence Act - An accomplice shall be a competent witness against an accused person; and a conviction is not illegal merely because it proceeds upon the uncorroborated testimony of an accomplice.

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