Chief Justice of Manipur High Court, Justice Siddharth Mridul recently delivered a lecture on the ‘Human Rights: Presumption of Innocence’ at Queen Mary University of London.
During the event, Justice Mridul enlightened the students about the concept of the Presumption of Innocence, saying it was first born in the 13th century and was later adopted in the 16th, 17th and 18th century by several countries.
“The evolution of the norm that every person is innocent until proven guilty is a case study of the long process on which the principles of law emerge…,” he said.
He said that it is the duty of the prosecution to prove the allegations beyond a reasonable doubt with real evidence before the judge. The one who is being accused is considered innocent until proven otherwise by real admissible evidence.
Under the presumption of innocence, the legal burden of proof lies on the prosecution, which must present compelling evidence to the trier of fact (a judge or a jury) to prove the allegations.
“The prosecution must in most cases prove that the accused is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. If reasonable doubt remains, the accused must be acquitted,” he said.
Born on November 22, 1962, Justice Mridul completed his schooling from Army Public School. He graduated from Hindu College, University of Delhi in BA Hons History in 1983.
He completed his L.L.B. in the year 1986 from Campus Law Centre, Faculty of Law, University of Delhi and enrolled with Bar Council of Delhi the same year.
He was appointed as Chief Justice, High Court of Manipur on 16th October, 2023.