LAW OF EVIDENCE 637
§ Section 120
I. C IVIL P ROCEEDINGS
(i) The parties to the suit are competent witnesses.
(ii) The husband and wife of any party to the suit are competent witnesses.
II. C RIMINAL P ROCEEDINGS
- The husband or wife of the accused is a competent witness either for or against.
§ Section 133
- This section deals with the competency of an accomplice. The evidence of an Accomplice is held untrustworthy for three reasons:
(i) because an accomplice is likely to swear falsely in order to shift the guilt from himself.
(ii) because an accomplice as participator in crime, and an immoral person, is likely to disregard the sanction of the oath.
(iii) because he gives his evidence under a promise or hope of not being prosecuted, if he discloses all he knows against his participators in the crime.
- But his evidence has to be admitted from necessity, it being often impossible without having recourse to such evidence to bring the principal offenders to justice.
§ Difference between the value of Evidence of Accomplices and other persons
Persons other than accomplices are not only competent but are also credible. An Accomplice on the other hand is only competent but is not credible.
Witnesses may be incredible in the eye of the Judge. But they are not incredible in the eye of the law. An Accomplice has a statutory incredibility attached to him by the law.
This statutory incredibility arises from illustration (b) to Section 114 of the Evidence Act. The presumption is sanctioned by the Act and although it is rebuttable, it would be an error of law not to disregard.