"False In One, False In All" Doctrine Doesn't Apply In India: J&K High Court Partially Overturns Acquittal In 24-Yr-Old Assault Case

The High Court of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh has reaffirmed that the doctrine of falsus in uno, falsus in omnibus—"false in one thing, false in everything" is inapplicable in Indian courts. Instead, the court comprising Justices Rajnesh Oswal and Sanjay Dhar emphasized the necessity of carefully sifting through evidence, separating unreliable portions while relying on credible and corroborated testimony. Partly overturning the acquittal of one Showkat Ali, who was charged in a 2000 assault case and convicting him under Section 325 of the Ranbir Penal Code Justice Dhar for the bench stated, “The job of the Court is to discard that portion of the evidence which appears to be unreliable and while doing so, that part of testimony of the witnesses, which is reliable and is corroborated by other circumstances in the case, has to be relied upon. When we adopt the said approach to the instant case, we have no manner of doubt in holding that the prosecution has succeeded in proving beyond reasonable doubt that respondent No.1/Accused Showkat Ali did launch an attack upon the injured” Background: The case originated from an FIR registered on April 5, 2000, at Police Station Bagh-e-Bahu, Jammu, following a violent altercation stemming from a longstanding land dispute. The State, represented by Additional Advocate General Mr. Amit Gupta, argued that the trial court had failed to properly assess the evidence, dismissing credible testimony on flimsy grounds.