Ratten vs. Queen, 1971

• The fact of the case are that where a man was charged with the murder of his wife. He defended himself in the court saying that the shot went off accidentally.
• However, there was evidence to show that the deceased wife contacted the telephone operator and said, ‘get me the police please’.
• But before the operator could connect the call to the police the lady who spoke in distress gave her address and then the call ended suddenly.
• Thereafter the police went to the address so given and found the dead body of a woman, that is, the wife of the accused.

Whether the call done by the wife is part of same translation and deal under section 6 of the Indian Evidence Act?

• The court observed that the act of the deceased of calling the telephone operator and the words said by her on the call are relevant facts here as they form part of the same transaction which is in issue before the court.
• And on the basis of these facts the accused was convicted for murder as no victim of an accident can even think of calling the police and ask for help before the happening. Her call in distress clearly showed that the shooting in question was intentional rather than being accidental.
• She victim (wife) had called the police for help but before operator could connect her to the police, her call was disconnected.
• Later the police found her dead body from her house from where the call was made and the time of death and the time of phone call was almost the same.
• The call made to the police came under the purview of section 6 and thereby defeated the accused husband defence that he accidentally fired his wife. 
• The court convicted the husband for his wife’s murder and also held that the phone call made by the lady was admissible as it was a happening of the same transaction.

• This is an English case in which a lady called the police headquarters to speak with a police officer, but the call was disconnected before she could be connected to one.
• The authorities tracked out the source of the phone call and arrived at the lady's residence, only to discover she had died.
• The lady's husband said that he fired a shot at his wife by accident, and she died as a result The husband was found guilty of his wife's murder, and the court also ruled that the lady's phone conversation was admissible because it was part of the same transaction.