In a recent decision, the Supreme Court of India decided not to allow a young girl to testify in a case from Gujarat. This case involves serious accusations, including demands for money and an alleged suicide. Here's what happened.
The case began with a complaint filed on December 1, 2017, by the father of a woman who allegedly took her own life. The woman was married to Mayankkumar Natwarlal Kankana Patel since 2010, and they had a daughter, Aashvi, born in 2013. The complaint accused Mayankkumar and others of being cruel and demanding money, which led to the woman’s death on November 5, 2017.
After the complaint, a formal charge was made on February 23, 2018. The trial started, and 21 people were questioned. On September 6, 2023, the lawyers wanted to call the couple’s daughter, Aashvi, as a witness. She was reportedly at home when her mother died.
The Trial Court did not allow Aashvi to testify. They pointed out that there was no mention of her being there in the initial complaint or during the investigation. The court was also concerned about her young age at the time of the incident.
The High Court of Gujarat, however, allowed the appeal on November 27, 2024, saying Aashvi’s testimony might be important. They told the trial court to make sure she was okay if she testified.
The Supreme Court, led by Justice Vikram Nath, overturned the High Court’s decision on December 19, 2025. The Supreme Court found no proof that Aashvi saw what happened. They also worried about how reliable her testimony would be because she was so young and it had been a long time since the incident.
"Memory at such a young age is vulnerable to distortion and external influence," the court noted.
The Supreme Court decided that bringing Aashvi in as a witness would not help the case. They went back to the Trial Court’s original decision and instructed the trial to continue without her testimony.
