A woman with chronic schizophrenia is produced as a witness in a murder trial. Regarding her competency to testify under Indian law of evidence:

• A She is incompetent because she suffers from a mental illness
• B Only a court-appointed psychiatrist can declare her competent
• C She may depose but her testimony carries no evidentiary value
• D She is competent if she can understand the questions put to her and give rational answers to them ✓

Explanation

All persons are competent witnesses unless they are prevented from understanding the questions or from giving rational answers by reason of tender age, extreme old age, disease of body or mind, or any similar cause. The functional test is comprehension and rational response, not the diagnostic label. Option A wrongly converts diagnosis into incompetence, and there is no requirement that a psychiatrist make the declaration; the court decides after questioning.

Reference: Parikh's Textbook of Medical Jurisprudence, Forensic Medicine and Toxicology, 7th ed.

High-yield for: NEET PGINI-CETNExTFMGEUSMLEPLABMRCP

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