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Evidence: The T-shirt That Gave It Away
- thelawpinion
- Jul 1, 2024
- 4 min read
Abstract:
A philosopher and a logician take their child on a train from London to Glasgow. As they cross the border into Scotland, they see a brown cow standing alone in a field.
‘Look,’ says the child, ‘the cows in Scotland are brown.’
‘No,’ says the philosopher, ‘there are cows in Scotland, and at least one of them is brown.’
‘That’s not right either,’ says the logician, ‘there is at least one cow in Scotland, of which one side appears to be brown.’
The above-mentioned anecdote is one used in literature to talk about a variety of topics, and here, it helps me give a start to this paper by talking about perception. I am writing this paper to talk about a recent case that was solved by investigating authorities because of evidence they found at the crime scene. That sentence by itself makes the case look undeserving of a paper on it, but that’s because of how an uninformed reader reads it and the perception that it’s utilized.
The term “Evidence” is generally used by people for things commonly associated with specific grave offences. Even its day-to-day use is for things like weapons lying around, but is it really that linear?
The point I will try to make in this article is that evidence can be anything, and how it’s not only about hypotheticals. but will also try to give examples including, but not limited to, talking about the Karjat murder case in depth as it’s the most recent case to be covered regarding this topic.
What is Evidence?
The definition above is provided and agreed upon by the most followed dictionaries in the world. This definition is no different than what the Indian evidence act provides us with as it says:
"Evidence", as defined in section 3, means -
All documents produced for the inspection of the Court; such documents are called documentary evidence.
The definition is not exhaustive of all matters which a Court can consider in determining questions of fact. This is also pointed out in a Calcutta case, Joy Comar v. Bindu Lai. Now if the lawmakers have given the term such a wide interpretation, why do we, as the general public, limit it?
Tara Lamont in her paper “What counts as evidence” talks about how different people consider different things as possible evidence and it always depends on outside factors. She also talks about how evidence should ideally be researched such as having the right kind of knowledge to do it, starting with the right question in your head, thinking about inclusion in research rather than the vice versa, whom should it be relevant to, Etc.
Image Source: http://surl.li/buxctq
What Are the Different Types of Evidence?
Researchers have discussed that there are different types of evidence, and the types should be differentiated before moving further with using it. Helen Kara talks about it in “What is Good Evidence?” saying that There are many types of evidence, which can be divided into informal and formal evidence. You might think investigators would only use formal evidence, but, in fact, they consider a wide range of evidence, including informal evidence from colleagues, superiors, the public, and other stakeholders, to determine what’s best. Formal and informal evidence are not discrete categories defined by the nature of the evidence itself. Whether evidence is defined as formal or informal depends on how the evidence is gathered and the wider context.
Unique Examples of Evidence Used in the Past
The American legal hemisphere has had many instances of unique evidence being the deciding factor in a case because their judges are open to consideration regarding the same. Certain cases with unique/informal evidence are the Richard debate case, where the accused was convicted based on Fitbit’s location tracking, and the Tiquez Timmon case, where 2 students were caught because of a Nintendo Switch. The Nintendo Switch stolen from the victim’s home was connected to a network, and the police could trace the IP address and follow the game system’s online activity, eventually leading them to the 2 delinquents.
The Karjat Murder Case
The recent murder case from Karjat Murbad road, Navi Mumbai, gives a ray of hope regarding the Indian investigative agencies finally following the American method and taking into account smaller details to decide a case. On February 29, a man was spotted with his limbs tied up and his throat slit and dumped in the bushes of a forest area on the isolated road near the Abasa farmhouse at Kashele village. The murder victim was so hard to identify that a picture of him had to be circulated in the area as well as to informers of the police to identify the body. The name was confirmed to be Suraj by one of the said informers and his job was of a freelance catering staff for different hotels.
It was near impossible to identify a killer through this information but the senior inspector of the Karjat police station, Surendra Garad, connected the dots as the body, when found, had its hands tied with a torn-up t-shirt with the name, Mount View Resort. When inquired it was realized that the t-shirt was only provided to a few labor contractors and talking to the other laborers in the area, 2 men, Dilip Dhansani (35) and Vijay Waghri (38) were caught as suspects. After interrogation Dhansani confessed that Suraj was convincing other labor to not work for him as he abused their rights and hence, with his aide, Vijay, Dilip gave Suraj alcohol only to kill him and throw him in the bushes in Karjat. They would’ve never been caught if the informal evidence wasn’t looked at as important by 1 inspector on the scene, but that inspector and this perception is what gives hope of justice.
References:
Joy Comar v. Bindu Lai, 1882 ILR 9 Cal 363 (366).
Lamont, T. (2021). WHAT counts as evidence. In Making Research Matter: Steps to Impact for Health and Care Researchers (1st ed., pp. 25–40). Bristol University Press. https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctv20pxxn5.8
Kara, H. (2022). What is good evidence? In R. Iphofen & D. O’Mathúna (Eds.), Ethical Evidence and Policymaking: Interdisciplinary and International Research (1st ed., pp. 293–305). Bristol University Press. https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctv2tbwqd5.20
*This article is authored by Kamran Panwar, Student of OP Jindal Global University, Sonipat and reviewed by Radhika Bhargava, Chief Editor, Lawpinion.
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