Plea of Alibi
R.R. KRISHNAA
(Expert) 27 August 2009
It shall be accepted only when it is made at the earliest point of time in the case.
Sarvesh Kumar Sharma Advocate
(Expert) 27 August 2009
Mr. Adinath ji ,
ALIBI depend on d satisfiction of d court.
alibi should be clear and evident (as-mobile location,tikits,public witness,etc.)
burden of proove is always on d person who is taking alibi.
AEJAZ AHMED
(Expert) 27 August 2009
Dear Patil Sir,
Plea Of Alibi
Plea of Alibi is the defense taken by the accused. It means that he was physically not present at the time of scene of offence by reason of his presence at another place. The burden of proving alibi is on accused. A plea of alibi if raised at the earliest opportunity would receive great credence. The accused must be so far away at the relevant time that he could not be away at the place where the crime was committed. In criminal trial, defense of alibi is not generally accepted unless backed by strong and solid evidence.
According to the principles laid down by the higher judiciary, the plea of alibi taken by the accused needs to be considered only when the burden which lies on the prosecution has been discharged satisfactorily. If the prosecution has failed in discharging its burden of proving the commission of crime by the accused beyond any reasonable doubt, it may not be necessary to go into the question whether the accused has succeeded in proving the defence of alibi.
Supreme Court has held about the plea of alibi in one of its judgments, in Jayantibhai Bhenkarbhai v. State of Gujarat, (2002) 8 SCC 165, the Honble Supreme Court observed as under in para no. 19: 19. The plea of alibi flows from Section 11 and is demonstrated by illustration (a). Sarkar on Evidence(Fifteenth Edition, p. 258) states the word 'alibi' is of Latin origin and means ``elsewhere'`. It is a convention term used for the defence taken by an accused that when the occurrence took place he was so far away from the place of occurrence that it is highly improbable that he would have participated in the crime. Alibi is not an exception(special or general) envisaged in the Indian Penal Code or any other law. It is only a rule of evidence recognized in Section 11 of the Evidence Act that fats which are inconsistent with the fact in issue are relevant. The burden of proving commission of offence by the accused so as to fasten the liability of guilt on him remains on the prosecution and would not be lessened by the mere fact that the accused had adopted the defence of alibi. The plea of alibi taken by the accused needs to be considered only when the burden which lies on the prosecution has been discharged satisfactorily. If the prosecution has failed in the discharging its burden of proving the commission of crime by the accused beyond any reasonable doubt, it may not be necessary to go into the question whether the accused has succeeded in proving the defence of alibi. But once the prosecution succeeds in discharging its burden then it is incumbent on the accused taking the plea of alibi to prove it with certainty so as to exclude the possibility of his presence a the place and time of occurrence. An obligation is cast on the Court to weigh in scales the evidence adduced by the prosecution in proving of the guilt of the accused and the evidence adduced by the accused in proving his defence of alibi. If the evidence adduced by the accused is of such a quality and of such a standard that the Court may entertain some reasonable doubt regarding his presence at the place and time of occurrence, the Court would evaluate the prosecution evidence to see if the evidence adduced on behalf of the prosecution leaves any slot available to fit therein the defence of alibi. The burden of the accused is undoubtedly heavy. This flows from Section 103 of the Evidence Act which provides that the burden of proof as to any particular fact lies on that person who wishes the Court to believe in its existence. However, while weighing the prosecution case and the defence case, pitted against each other, if the balance tilts in favour of the accused, the prosecution would fail and the accused would be entitled to benefit of that reasonable doubt which would emerge in the mind of the Court.(emphasis supplied).
Kindly go through this Judgement on :
http://www.indiankanoon.org/doc/631717/
A. A. JOSE
(Expert) 27 August 2009
Mr.Ajez has rightly dealt with the issue and I fully endorse the same
Guest
(Expert) 27 August 2009
It is a settled law that when a plea of alibi raised, it is for the person raising the plea of alibi, to prove and establish such a plea by positive evidence. Refer AIR 1981 SC 1021
Bhumik Dave
(Expert) 28 August 2009
Thanks Ahmed sir 4 detail information
Ravi Arora
(Expert) 28 August 2009
very right brother ahmed
MANISH
(Expert) 29 August 2009
Dear friend,
the plea of alibi in a criminal case can be taken at the earliest possible time / opportunity. This stage could be the stage of framing of charge.
G. ARAVINTHAN
(Expert) 30 August 2009
Person raising plea of alibi to prove his case through witnesses at the earlier stage of the case
murugan
(Expert) 03 September 2009
plea of alibi can be taken only in defence stage or may be during cross of PW,s
no document can be filed at charge framing stage by accused
Adinath@Avinash Patil
(Querist) 27 August 2009
This query is : Resolved
