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PETITIONER: NASAR ALI
Vs.
RESPONDENT: THE STATE OF UTTAR PRADESH
DATE OF JUDGMENT: 14/02/1957
BENCH:
ACT: First in formation report-Report made by accused--Use of Burden of Proof in criminal cases -Witness disbelieved as to Part of his testimony-Whether should be rejected in toto.
HEADNOTE: A first information report is not a substantive piece of evidence and can only be used to corroborate the statement of the maker under s. I57 Of the Evidence Act or to contradict it under S. 145 of that Act. It cannot be used as evidence against the maker at the trial if he himself becomes an accused, nor to corroborate or contradict other witnesses, It is a cardinal principle of criminal jurisprudence that the innocence of an accused person is presumed till otherwise proved. It is the duty of the prosecution to prove the guilt of the accused subject to any statutory exception. The maxim falsus in uno, falsus in omnibus has not received general acceptance in different jurisdictions in India, nor has it come to occupy the status of a rule of law. It is merely a rule of caution. All that it amounts to is that in such cases the testimony may be disregarded and not that it must be disregarded. The doctrine merely involves the question of weight of evidence which a court may apply in a given set of circumstances but it is not a mandatory rule of evidence,