The Supreme Court recently overturned a conviction, emphasizing that a Test Identification Parade (TIP) loses its evidentiary value if the witness who identified the accused is not examined during the trial.
The ruling highlighted a crucial legal principle: a TIP report can only serve as corroboration or contradiction if the witness who participated in the parade testifies in court. Without such testimony, the Court noted, it is impossible to determine how the witness identified the accused or whether they were influenced before the TIP took place.
“If the witness who identified a person or an article in the TIP is not examined during trial, the TIP report, which may be useful to corroborate or contradict the witness, loses its evidentiary value for the purposes of identification,” the Court stated. “Unless the witness appears for cross-examination, it cannot be ascertained on what basis they identified the accused. It is possible the accused was shown to the witness beforehand or that the witness was coached to recognize them.”
A bench comprising Justices PS Narasimha and Manoj Misra delivered the ruling while hearing an appeal from an individual convicted of dacoity and offenses under the Arms Act. The prosecution alleged that the appellant, at gunpoint, stopped a moving bus and robbed passengers.
During the investigation, a TIP was conducted with three witnesses identifying the accused. However, none of these witnesses were called to testify in court. The Supreme Court found this omission critical, stating that without their testimony, the TIP held no legal significance.
“The TIP was conducted by PW-7 (the Naib Tehsildar), and two out of three witnesses identified the appellant. However, none of these witnesses were examined during trial. As a result, the TIP report, which could have been used to corroborate or contradict their identification, is of no evidentiary value,” the Court noted.
Citing this procedural lapse, the Court allowed the appeal and set aside the conviction, granting the accused the benefit of the doubt.