test identification parade
A test identification parade (TIP) is held during investigation, usually under the supervision of a Magistrate, to test whether a witness who did not know the accused before can identify him. The suspect is mixed with persons of similar appearance, and precautions are taken so that the witness has not seen him after arrest. Section 54 of the BNSS (old s.54A CrPC) provides for identification of an arrested person.
The TIP itself is not substantive evidence; it only corroborates the witness's identification in court, which is the substantive evidence. A TIP is relevant under Section 7 of the BSA (old s.9 Evidence Act). Failure to hold one is not fatal, but delay or irregularities reduce the weight of the identification.
Example
The witness had never seen the robbers before, so his identification in court was corroborated by his picking out the accused at the test identification parade.
In Indian law
- Section 54, Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (old s.54A CrPC); Section 7, Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023 (old s.9, Indian Evidence Act, 1872)
See also
corroboration · investigation · witness
Read more in the study notes
- Res gestae, motive, conduct, identification, conspiracy and alibi (sections 4 to 9) (Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam)
- Law and Lawyers: Dasappa's case, the Lahore judgment and the Punjab cases (English)