Y.S Nataraja Vs State Of Karnataka - Criminal Trial - Defence Counsel Suggestion

Criminal Trial - Suggestion made by the defence counsel to a witness in the cross-examination if found to be incriminating in nature, in any manner, would definitely bind the accused and the accused cannot get away on the plea that his counsel had no implied authority to make suggestions in the nature of admission against his clients. Any concession or admission of a fact by defence counsel would definitely be binding on his client, except the concession on a point of law- Referred to Balu Sudam Khalde & Anr. vs. State of Mahrashtra reported in (2023) 13 SCC 365. (Para 40)

Criminal Trial - An accused can be held guilty, even on the evidence of a solitary eye-witness provided the evidence is found to be true, trustworthy and reliable. The evidence of a solitary eye-witness can be classified into three categories:- (i) Wholly reliable (ii) Wholly unreliable (iii) Neither wholly reliable nor wholly unreliable. If the case falls within the first category, there should not be any difficulty in accepting the evidence and holding the accused guilty of the alleged offence. If the case falls within the second category, the Court should outright discard the entire case of the prosecution and acquit the accused. The difficulty arises when the case falls within the third category, i.e., neither wholly reliable nor wholly unreliable. In such circumstances, the court must insist for corroboration in material particulars. (Para 30)