Testimony via sign language interpreter is valid, says Chhattisgarh High Court

The Chhattisgarh High Court has said that statements recorded using a sign language interpreter are legally valid for convicting the accused. The court made the observation while upholding the life sentence of a man convicted of sexually assaulting a physically-abled woman.

A two-member bench consisting of Chief Justice Ramesh Sinha and Justice Ravindra Kumar Agrawal dismissed the accused’s appeal while upholding the trial court’s March 2023 verdict.

The High Court noted that the trial court took appropriate steps to facilitate the survivor’s testimony. When she struggled to understand certain questions, the trial court used a plastic doll to explain and allowed an interpreter to assist her.

The judges affirmed that this method did not diminish the value of the survivor’s statement but helped her express herself more clearly and accurately.

The court observed that the survivor’s gestures and statements were consistent with the FIR and her earlier statements to the police, in which she identified her brother-in-law as the accused.

There was no indication that the survivor had any mental incapacity preventing her from understanding or describing the incident, the court noted.

The court emphasised that a person’s inability to hear or speak does not invalidate their testimony, adding that statements made through sign language with an interpreter's assistance can form the basis for conviction.