PLEA OF ALIBI
ANKITA SINGH
University of Lucknow
The term “Alibi” is a Latin word that means “elsewhere” when a person committed a crime. In criminal law, the plea of Alibi, the presumption of innocence, is an important concept; in fact, it is the cornerstone of the justice system. The plea of alibi is taken when the accused could not have committed a crime because they were not physically present at the crime scene at the relevant time. The plea of Alibi is not a mere assertion but is credible evidence to support the physical impossibility of being present at the crime spot at the relevant time. Though for this plea the defence needs to give definite and irrefutable barriers to the prosecution case, reinforcing the principle that guilt must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt. The plea of Alibi is the cornerstone of the criminal justice system. It is not merely present in general exceptions of The Indian Penal Code but an important concept of the Law of Evidence.
The plea of Alibi is given in section 9 of The Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023, earlier under section 11 of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872. It says facts not otherwise relevant are relevant:
1. If they are inconsistent with any fact in issue or relevant fact;
2. If by themselves or in connection with other facts, they make the existence or nonexistence of any facts highly probable or improbable.
Illustration
a. The question is whether A committed a crime in Chennai on a certain day. The fact that, on that day, A was in Ladakh is relevant. The situation is that near the time when the crime took place, A was at a distance from a place where it was committed, which would render it highly improbable, though not impossible, that he is responsible for the crime committed.
b. The question, whether A committed a crime. The situations are such that the crime must have been committed either by X, Y, Z, or W. Every fact that shows that the crime could have been committed by no one else and it was not committed by either Y, Z or W irrelevant.
Section 106 of The Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam 2023 says the burden of proof as to any particular facts lies on that person who wishes the court to believe in its existence, unless it is provided by any law that the proof of that fact shall lie on any particular person.
Illustration
X prosecutes Y for theft and wishes the court to believe that Y admitted the theft to Z. X must prove the admission. Y wishes the court to believe that, at the time in question, he was elsewhere; he must prove it.
Essentials of a Plea of Alibi
A plea of Alibi is a defence used in criminal law when an accused claims they were not at the crime scene at the time of the offence. The essentials of a plea of alibi include:
1. Crime: The crime must be against the law and punishable.
2. Accused's absence: The accused must not have been present at the crime scene when the crime occurred.
3. Evidence: The accused must provide solid evidence to prove their Alibi.
4. Early plea: The plea should be raised as early as possible.
5. Consistency: The Alibi should be maintained consistently.
The plea of Alibi should be taken at the earliest possible time and not taken as an afterthought. The plea of Alibi should be taken at the time of the framing of the charge or the initial stages of the preliminary hearing of the case. It will create more impact on the trial.
In Delay of Raising Alibi:
If the accused did not file the plea of Alibi in the initial stage and a delay happens, this will decrease the credibility, and because as time goes on, the possibility of forgetting the details of what happened a week, month, or year ago is high. Proving an Alibi beyond reasonable doubt helps in getting a person out of the case. However, the plea of Alibi could not be ignored just because of delayed disclosure, but the accused should file the plea of Alibi so that there should be sufficient time to investigate the case. If the plea of Alibi is fake and the accused fabricated it, then it will go against the accused.
Admissibility of Alibi:
The plea of Alibi must be supported by the evidence and witnesses, meaning the witnesses and evidence that testify to the fact that the accused was not present at the time of the crime. The evidence, such as GPS, videos, photos, etc., will strengthen or weaken the Alibi. After hearing testimonies, the judge decides the credibility of witnesses and evidence. Families and friends must also testify by the judge for the plea of Alibi. A failed attempt to prove the plea of Alibi will make the evidence weak, but it cannot wholly discard it.
When can the plea of Alibi be taken?
The plea of Alibi should be taken at the earliest possible opportunity and not at a later stage; it should be taken at the time of the framing of the charges or at the initial stage of the preliminary hearing in the initial stage of the trial and not as an afterthought.
Who can raise the plea of Alibi?
A plea of Alibi should be taken by the accused of an alleged offence. In order to raise the plea of Alibi, the accused should not have been present at the place of the crime spot at that time. The accused must be far away from the place of the crime. The credibility of the plea of Alibi increases when it is taken in the initial stage of criminal proceedings. The stage could be at the time of the framing of the charges or at the preliminary stage of the trial.
Who carries the burden of proof?
When the prosecution proved the charges against the accused and had discharged his burden, then the defendant could raise the plea of Alibi to prove that he was not present at the time of the crime and the crime spot; he was far away from the place. It will prove his innocence; if the plea of Alibi is delayed, it will raise the suspicion of crime. The plea of Alibi is accepted, and the judge feels the plea of Alibi is planned and untrue; then the court may reject the plea of Alibi.
Failure of plea of Alibi
The court will automatically reject the accused’s plea of Alibi if they are unable to provide proof of it. However, it doesn’t mean that the accused was present at the crime spot;
The prosecution needs to present positive evidence before the court to prove the crime of the accused. Failure to prove the plea of Alibi is not considered evidence of guilt.
False plea
It has been observed that sometimes the accused raises a false plea of Alibi as a defence to protect his crime against criminal proceedings. However, a false plea of Alibi will give a negative impact on the accused, but it will not make an accused guilty of the crime. A
prosecution still needs to give positive evidence against the accused. The false plea of Alibi and giving non true evidence to prove it lead to suspicion, and the court becomes more cautious throughout the proceedings.
Case Laws
State of Rajasthan vs. Mahavir Alias Mahavir Prasad (1998).
The accused (Mahavir) committed the murder of his wife Radha (a punishable offence under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code). The prosecution alleged that the accused was demanding the dowry and ill-treating his wife. The accused submitted the plea of Alibi, but the trial court stated the accused is responsible for the death of the woman and rejected the plea of Alibi, giving life imprisonment and a fine of 500. The High court later acquitted the accused and stated that the prosecution was unable to produce positive evidence against the accused. Later, the Supreme Court held that the plea of Alibi of the respondent was an afterthought, and the trial court is right in rejecting the plea of Alibi, and the accused is convicted for the crime of murder under section 302 of The Indian Penal Code.
Gurpreet Singh vs. State of Haryana (2002).
In this case, the parties (deceased and appellant) made a joint petition seeking the mutual divorce. Both were living together till she breathed her last. The accused was put on trial for murdering his wife, the offence, which is punishable under section 302 of The Indian Penal Code. The accused presented the plea of Alibi. The High Court rejected the contentions and stated that there is sufficient evidence present to make the accused guilty of the crime. It also disbelieved the accused’s plea of Alibi is false plea. The case was further presented before the Supreme Court, where the bench held that the accused did not provide any reason or explanation except a plea of Alibi, which the High Court disbelieved. The top court further said that there is sufficient evidence present to connect the brutal killing of the wife with the appellate, and the appellate is guilty of the crime, and the plea of Alibi is rejected.
Darshan Singh vs. State of Punjab (2016).
In this case the accused is guilty of the murder and was convicted by the High Court and sentenced to life imprisonment with a fine of 5000 rupees. After properly investigating the evidence, it was seen that the accused had presented a false plea of Alibi; also, it was determined that the plea of Alibi of the accused was vacillating. The Supreme Court stated that the plea of Alibi is not a broad exception present in The Indian Penal Code, but it is a very important rule of the Evidence Act, Section 11.
However, the plea of Alibi can only be entered after the prosecution has proven the case against the accused. It added that after scrutinising all the evidence, no illegality was found in. and the appeal was dismissed by the Supreme Court.
Pappu Tiwary vs. State of Jharkhand (2022).
In this case, the Supreme Court held that the burden of proving the plea of Alibi is on the appellant, and if the appellant has failed to bring on record any such evidence and witnesses that would, even by reasonable probability to establish their plea of Alibi. The plea of Alibi must be present to completely exclude the possibility of the accused being present at the crime scene at that moment. And in fact, the accused is far away from the crime spot at the time of committing the crime and has no role in the crime.
Conclusion
It is concluded that the plea of Alibi is taken to show his absence in the crime scene and to prove the innocence of the accused. The plea of the Alibi is much stronger in the initial stage of the trial, which does not give any room for doubts. If there is no solid evidence present to prove the Alibi by witnesses or other accurate records and evidence, then it won’t be considered a plea of Alibi can be rejected. And it won’t reduce the burden of prosecution. If the accused is not able to prove the plea of Alibi, it does not mean that he is guilty of a crime; further trial and investigation must be carried forward. Mere failure to prove the plea of Alibi won’t make an accused guilty of a crime. It can’t be the sole reason for the conviction. An Alibi is good evidence to tell that the person accused did not participate in the crime and is not responsible for the crime because in the first place he was not present at the crime spot; instead he was elsewhere. If he was present in the crime spot, then only he is responsible for the crime; otherwise, the accused has no connection to the crime and is not responsible for it. After establishing this fact, the accused can be acquitted.
References
1.https://heinonline.org/HOL/LandingPage?handle=hein.journals/injloitd2&div=205&id=&page=
2. https://indiankanoon.org/