Introduction:
The most complicated area of criminal jurisprudence is the tool of proving, what type of evidence is presented for proving in a court of law. Here is one of the principles of the law of evidence is Res Gestae. Res Gestae is a Latin term which means “Things done”. Res Gestae is used to refer to a declaration that is made at an event that proves the event happened because the words were uttered upon witnessing the event.
Categories
Doctrine of Res Gestae is generally applied in these conversational aspects:
- Words or phrases that either wholly or partially explain a physical act;
- Exclamations that are so spontaneous that they prevent anyone from successfully lying to the contrary; and
- Statements that prove an individual’s state of mind.
Test for Admission of Evidence Under Res-Gestae
The test to be applied in deciding whether a hearsay statement made by a bystander or victim indicating the identity of the attacker is admissible can be put succinctly;
1. Was the identification relevant?
2. Was it spontaneous?
3. Was there an opportunity for concoction?
4. Was there any real possibility of error?
Indian Law on the Doctrine of Res Gestae
The rule of Res Gestae first appeared in the year 1693 in Thompson v. Trevanion, where it was held that declarations accompanying an act are receivable in explanation thereof.
Section 6 of the Indian evidence Act explains the principle of Res Gestae:
“Facts which, though not in issue, are so connected with a fact in issue as to form part of the same transaction, are relevant, whether they occurred at the same time and place of at different times and places”
Res Gestae includes facts that form part of the same transaction. So, it is pertinent to examine what is a transaction, when does it start and when does it end. If any fact fails to link itself with the main transaction, it fails to be a Res Gestae and hence inadmissible.
This rule is an exception to the Hearsay evidence. Indian Judiciary has interpreted Res Gestae as only those statements made contemporaneously with the event or immediately after it, but not ‘at such interval of time’ as to allow fabrication. The reasoning provided behind such a statement is that the witness while providing such exceptional hearsay statements lacks reflective capacity due to the event being so startling, and is only able to speak the truth.
Expansion of Res Gestae Doctrine
Courts have slowly broadened the scope of this section to cases like domestic violence, child witness, etc.
Domestic violence and assault cases necessarily involve a startling event; they often include the issue of excited utterances. In these cases, it is only victims who can identify the alleged culprit. Usually, cases of rape take place in isolation. So there is no eye witness to such an event.
Conclusion
The meaning of the doctrine of Res Gestae is unclear and it is not definitive. It is so confused term as we cannot say that what is exactly considered as the doctrine of Res Gestae. It is not stated clearly because it is discretion left to the courts to consider the relevant evidence based on the whole facts of the cases. Usually, evidence is brought under Res Gestae when it cannot be brought under any section of the Indian Evidence Act. The intention of the lawmakers was to avoid injustice, where cases are dismissed due to lack of evidence. Courts have always been conscious that this doctrine should never be expanded to an unlimited extent. Generally, If any statement is not admissible under sec. 6 it can be admissible under sec.157 as corroborative evidence.
0 Comments