Lodhi v The Queen & Anor

The High Court of Australia considered an appeal by Mr Lodhi against the decision of the Full Court of the Supreme Court of Victoria, which had dismissed his appeal against his conviction for murder. The dispute concerned the admissibility of certain evidence during Mr Lodhi's trial.

The central legal issue before the High Court was whether the evidence of a police informant, who had provided information about Mr Lodhi's alleged confession to a crime, was wrongly admitted at trial. This involved determining whether the informant's evidence was hearsay and, if so, whether any exceptions to the hearsay rule applied, particularly concerning admissions by an accused.

The High Court analysed the nature of the informant's evidence, noting that it was presented to prove the truth of the contents of the alleged confession. Their Honours found that the evidence was indeed hearsay. However, they also considered the exception to the hearsay rule for admissions made by an accused. The Court ultimately held that the informant's evidence was admissible as it constituted an admission by Mr Lodhi, and therefore the trial judge had not erred in admitting it.

The High Court dismissed the appeal.