Law vague on dying declaration format: Experts

Under the Evidence Act, a dying declaration is the last statement given by any person before his death and it is considered in investigations since it is assumed that a dying person will tell the truth, said a senior police officer

Soon after the news of contractor Santosh Patil’s death came to the fore, purported suicide note by the deceased, blaming the minister for rural development and panchayat raj KS Eshwarappa and his aides for forcing him to take the extreme step, started doing rounds on the social media.

Meanwhile, senior criminal lawyer CH Hanumantharaya said that it is the job of the police to verify the authenticity, using circumstantial and other evidences, and tell the court if the message was written by the contractor or not. (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Patil, 37, was found dead in a lodge in Udupi on Tuesday.

“I am going on a journey of no return. Panchayat raj minister K S Eshwarappa is directly responsible for my death, and he should be punished. I have taken this decision after suppressing all my wants and desires. I have brought some friends with me, after lying to them that we are going on a picnic. But they are not responsible for my death. I thank all my friends, I also thank the journalists for highlighting my problems,’ read his WhatsApp message, written in Kannada.

The note was received by the contractor’s family and friends before his death. The minister in turn had claimed that the WhatsApp message which is being circulated as the ‘death note’ could be concocted. The complaint against the minister was also lodged based on the said message.

HT spoke with senior police officers and legal experts to understand whether a WhatsApp message can be considered as a dying declaration.

“Under the Evidence Act, a dying declaration is the last statement given by any person before his death and it is considered in investigations since it is assumed that a dying person will tell the truth,” said a senior police officer, who did not want to be named.

“The law is vague on whether a dying declaration should be in a certain format, like handwritten or in front of a magistrate. In such cases, it narrows down to how the investigators will prove if those were that person’s last words and he himself made it,” said the officer.

Taking the example of the investigation into the death of an IAS officer, the official said that he too had left his death note on WhatsApp. The 35-year-old joint commissioner of vigilance with the commercial taxes department, was found dead at his flat in Bengaluru in March 2015. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) while probing the case had concluded that his death was a suicide based on the death note he had shared on WhatsApp.

Due to the mounting pressure from Opposition, Eshwarappa announced his resignation on Thursday. However, Karnataka chief minister Basavaraj Bommai said that the minister is confident that he will be exonerated in the case. In his defence, the minister said: “The text being circulated is not a death note. Actually, the chief minister himself told me that there was no death note found where his body was found.”

“The text being circulated is a WhatsApp message. I don’t know who typed that message. There is neither his handwritten text nor signature. Do you consider it his death note?” he asked, addressing the press in Shivamogga.

Meanwhile, senior criminal lawyer CH Hanumantharaya said that it is the job of the police to verify the authenticity, using circumstantial and other evidences, and tell the court if the message was written by the contractor or not.

“In this case, he has given a statement claiming that the minister will be responsible if anything happens to him. In his earlier letter to the Prime Minister and in the media statements also he has said that he will be forced to end his life if bills are not cleared and Eshwarappa would be responsible for the same. This could be crucial,” he pointed out.