basis of conviction unless it is corroborated. The rule requiring corroboration is merely a rule of prudence. …” (Emphasis supplied) 58. This Court in Nallapati Sivaiah v. Sub-Divisional Officer, Guntur, Andhra Pradesh reported in (2007) 15 SCC 465 and Bhajju alias Karan Singh v. State of Madhya Pradesh reported in (2012) 4 SCC 327 had explained the meaning and principles of dying declarations upon which its admissibility is founded, with the following observations: “20. There is a historical and a literary basis for recognition of dying declaration as an exception to the hearsay rule. Some authorities suggest the rule is of Shakespearian origin. In The Life and Death of King John, Shakespeare had made Lord Melun utter “Have I met hideous death within my view, retaining but a quantity of life, which bleeds away, … lose the use of all deceit” and asked, “Why should I then be false, since it is true that I must die here and live hence by truth?” William Shakespeare, The Life and Death of King John, Act 5, Scene 4, lines 22-29. Xxx xxx xxx 22. It is equally well settled and needs no restatement at our hands that dying declaration can form the sole basis for conviction. But at the same time due care and caution must be exercised in considering weight to be given to dying declaration inasmuch as there could be any number of circumstances which may affect the truth. This Court in more than one decision has cautioned that the courts have always to be on guard to see that the dying declaration was not the result of either tutoring or prompting or a product of imagination. It is the duty of the courts to find that the deceased was in a fit state of mind to make the dying declaration. In order to satisfy itself that the deceased was in a fit mental condition to make the dying declaration, the courts have to look for the medical opinion. 23. It is not difficult to appreciate why dying declarations are admitted in evidence at a trial for murder, as a striking 30