High Court says signs, gestures are oral evidence, upholds conviction of man for raping disabled woman

In a recent order, the Chhattisgarh High Court said that testimony through signs and gestures shall be treated as substantive oral evidence, while dismissing the appeal of a man convicted for raping a speech and hearing impaired woman from Balod district in 2023.

The court also observed that the trial court while convicting the man had adopted demonstrative methods, including the use of a plastic doll, to remove any possibility of misunderstanding in the survivor’s testimony.

“The defence contention that the victim, being deaf and dumb, is not a competent witness is liable to be rejected. The law recognises that a witness who is unable to speak may give evidence by signs or gestures in open Court, and such evidence is to be treated as substantive oral evidence,” noted the order delivered by a Bench of Chief Justice Ramesh Sinha and Justice Ravindra Kumar Agrawal on March 16.

The incident took place on July 29, 2020 when the victim was alone in her house in Balod district, where the man entered the house and raped her. The accused was convicted in the year 2023 and awarded him imprisonment for life till natural death.

Challenging his conviction in the High Court, the appellant had submitted that the trial court had not adduced “cogent, reliable and convincing evidence to establish the allegation of forcible sexual intercourse”.

However, upholding the conviction and the sentence, the High Court said that in the present case, the trial court took adequate precautions by securing the presence of a trained interpreter and by recording its satisfaction regarding the victim’s capacity to understand and respond.

It also said that there is no material on record to suggest that the victim was suffering from any mental incapacity that would render her testimony unreliable. On the contrary, the court said, her ability to identify the accused, to demonstrate the act complained of and to narrate the sequence of events through gestures clearly establishes her competency as a witness.

“Since the victim was not able to clearly understand certain questions during her examination, the court adopted an appropriate demonstrative method by bringing a plastic doll to facilitate communication. On being asked through such demonstration, the victim again indicated by gestures that the accused had forcibly committed sexual intercourse with her,” the order stated.