https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=171596 Expert opinion under Section 45 of the Indian Evidence Act is relevant only where the witness shows special competence and supports the opinion with study, experience, data and reasons. Here, the horticulture officer's assessment of apple orchard productivity lacked demonstrated scientific basis and was treated as unreliable, so it could not safely prove inflation of procured scabbed apples. As the prosecution case depended substantially on that report and no direct or convincing circumstantial evidence established cheating, conspiracy, forgery or corruption beyond reasonable doubt, the charges were not proved. The High Court's acquittal was therefore sustained. en-us Mon, 13 Sep 1999 00:00:00 +0530 Sat, 25 Jul 2015 13:29:30 +0530 TaxTMI RSS Generator https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=171596 Expert opinion under Section 45 of the Indian Evidence Act is relevant only where the witness shows special competence and supports the opinion with study, experience, data and reasons. Here, the horticulture officer's assessment of apple orchard productivity lacked demonstrated scientific basis and was treated as unreliable, so it could not safely prove inflation of procured scabbed apples. As the prosecution case depended substantially on that report and no direct or convincing circumstantial evidence established cheating, conspiracy, forgery or corruption beyond reasonable doubt, the charges were not proved. The High Court's acquittal was therefore sustained. Case-Laws Indian Laws Mon, 13 Sep 1999 00:00:00 +0530 https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=171596