SIDHESWAR GANGULY vs THE STATE OF WEST BENGAL

The Supreme Court held that the refusal of the Sessions judge to read the accused's written statement to the jury was justified, as there is no provision in the Code of Criminal Procedure allowing such statements in jury trials. The Court clarified that corroboration of the prosecutrix's testimony is not a legal requirement for conviction in rape cases, and it is up to the jury to determine the weight of uncorroborated evidence. The judgment emphasized that the practice of summary dismissal of appeals in jury trials is condemned, and the High Court's certificate for appeal was deemed inappropriate in this context, following Haripada Dey v. The State of West Bengal, [1956] S.C.R. 639 and Rameshwar v. The State of Rajasthan, [1952] S.C.R. 386.