Cross Examination is an acid test of the truthfulness of the statement made by a witness by a witness in on oath in cross examination.
The importance of cross examination has been elucidated on several occasions by this Court, including by a Constitution Bench in Kartar Singh v. State of Punjab, which laid down as follows:
“278. Section 137 of the Evidence Act defines what cross-examination means and Sections 139 and 145 speak of the mode of cross-examination with reference to the documents as well as oral evidence. It is the jurisprudence of law that cross-examination is an acid test of the truthfulness of the statement made by a witness on oath in examination in chief, the objects of which are:
(1) to destroy or weaken the evidentiary value of the witness of his adversary;
(2) to elicit facts in favour of the cross examining lawyer’s client from the mouth of the witness of the adversary party;
(3) to show that the witness is unworthy of belief by impeaching the credit of the said witness;
and the questions to be addressed in the course of cross examination are to test his veracity; to discover who he is
and what is his position in life; and to shake his credit by
injuring his character.
279. The identity of the witness is necessary in the normal trial of cases to achieve the above objects and the right of confrontation is
one of the fundamental guarantees so that he could guard himself from being victimised by any false and invented evidence that may
be tendered by the adversary party.”
- Anita Sharma & Ors. Vs. The New India Assurance Co. Ltd. & Anr.
- Civil Appeal Nos. 4010-4011/2020
- view the Original Judgement Pdf Download
- Kartar Singh v. State of Punjab
- View the original Judgement Pdf Download