THE INDIAN EVIDENCE ACT 1872

INTRODUCTION

The Indian Evidence Act or The Law of Evidence is a subject which cannot be
understood without understanding these important features which forms the basis of the Law
of Evidence.For a good Lawyering skills and hands on the subject these features are a must
on tips. Only then can you jump on to the next level to understand and study The Law of
Evidence These important features are-

Court

Fact

Relevant fact

Facts in issue

Document

Evidence

Proved

Disproved

Not proved

Affidavit

Motive

Circumstantial Evidence

May presume

Shall presume
 Conclusive proof

These are explained in detail below-

1) Court

Court includes all Judges and Magistrates, and all persons except Arbitrators, legally
authorized to take evidence. A Court is a governmental institution with the authority to decide
legal disputes between the parties. All kinds of persons are free to bring their disputes to the
court and seek a fair judgment.

The Judiciary is the system who interprets and applies the Law. The place where the
court sits is known as a venue. The room where the court proceedings are held is known as a
Court room. A Court is constituted by a minimum of three parties-

The Plaintiff-is a person who complains for an injury caused to him.

The Defendant-is a person who defenses himself against the complaint made by the
plaintiff against the defendant and,

The Judicial power-who is to examine the truth of the fact and deliver a judgment.
Besides this Advocates of both the parties.

2) FACT- The term fact means and includes-

1. Any thing,state of things,or relation of things,capable of being perceived by the

senses;

2. Any mental condition of which any person is conscious.

Example-

That man heard or saw something,is a fact.

That women has a certain reputation,is a fact.

The jar kept on the table,is a fact.

 That a man holds a certain opinion,has a certain intention, acts in good faith,acts
fraudulently,or uses a word in a particular sense,or is or was at a specified time
conscious of a particular sensation,is a fact.

That girl has so and so name,is a fact.

3) Relevant fact-

A fact is said to be relevant to another when one fact is connected with the other fact
in any ways referred to in the provisions of this act in the chapter of relevancy of facts.
Relevant fact-The word relevant means that any two facts to which it is applied are in such a
way related to each other that,one,either taken by itself or in connection with the other facts,
proves or renders probablity of the past, present or future existence or non-existence of the
other. Relevant means admissible in evidence. Of all the rules in evidence the most
important is that the evidence adduced should be confined only to the matters which are in
dispute, or which form the subject of investigation.

4) Facts in issue-

The expression fact in issue means and includes- Any fact from which, either by
itself or in connection with other facts, the existence, non-existence, nature or extent of any
right, liability, or disability, asserted or denied in any suit or proceeding, necessarily follows.
Example- A is accused for the murder of B. At his trial in the court the following facts may be
in issue-

That A caused Bs death;

That A intended to cause Bs death;

That A, at the time of doing the act which caused Bs death, was by reason, of
unsound mind or incapable of knowing its nature.

5) Document-

The term document means any matter expressed or described upon any substance
by means of letters, figures or marks, or by more than one of those means, intended to be
used, or which may be used, for the purpose of recording that matter. Example-
 A writing is a document;

Words printed, lithographed or photographed are documents;

A map or plan is a document;

An inscription on a metal plate or stone is a document;

A caricature is a document.

The term document includes all material substances on which thoughts of the people
are expressed by writing or in any other way, by a mark or a symbol. For instance, the
wooden board on which the bakers, the milk men, indicate by notches, the number of loaves
of bread or liters of milk supplied to the customers, are documents.

6) Evidence- Evidence means and includes-

All statements which the court permits or requires to be made before it by the
witnesses, in relation to matters of fact under inquiry; such statements are called oral
evidence;

All documents including electronic records produced for the inspection of the Court,
such documents are called documentary evidence.

The term Evidence covers (a) the evidence of witnesses, and (b) Documentary
evidence. Evidence can both be oral and documentary and electronic records can be produced
as evidence. The word evidence does not includes everything that is before a Court. There
are other medium of proof as well. For eg-

The statement of parties,

 The result of investigations held,

Any real or personal property been inspected in determining the question at issue,
such as weapons, tools or stolen property.

7) Proved-

A fact is said to be proved when after considering the matters before it, the Court
either believes it to exist or considers its existence so probable that a prudent man ought,
under the circumstances of the particular case, to act upon the supposition that it exists.
When the Court believes it to exist, it means it is proved beyond reasonable doubt. In the case
of criminal proceeding the guilt of the accused is to be proved beyond reasonable doubt. In
civil proceedings proving beyond reasonable doubt is not necessary, only balancing of
possibilities and probabilities is sufficient. The meaning of proved means positive findings.

8) Disproved-

A fact is said to be disproved when, after considering the matters before it, the Court
either believes that it does not exist, or considers its non-existence so probable that a prudent
man ought, under the circumstances of the particular case, to act upon the supposition that it
does not exist. Disproved is contrary to proved. It also means negative findings. In disproved
the existence of such fact is not proved but its non-existence is proved.

9) Not Proved

A fact is said not to be proved when it is neither proved nor disproved. There is no
positive or negative findings. It is a situation where the parties fail to explain precisely, how
the matter stands.

10) Affidavit

An affidavit is a written statement made voluntarily made by an affiant or deponent

under an oath administered by a person who is legally authorized to do so. Affidavits are
confined only to those facts which the deponent is able of his own knowledge to prove. An
affidavit filed by a party cannot be termed as evidence. Affidavits cannot be used in evidence.
It can only be used if the Court permits to be used for sufficient reasons.
11) Motive-

A motive in law is the cause that moves the people to commit a certain act. The
motive is a very essential factor to be seen behind every act, specially a criminal act
committed. It can be explained with the help of an example-

Rekha, who was the owners daughter was killed by the tenant dheeraj, who had a evil
eye on rekha. Dheeraj had tried to rape Rekha but Rekha managed to escape and told
her mother about the incident on account of which Rekhas father abusingley told
dheeraj to vacate the house immidiatley.This may be taken as the motive of the
Murder.

If the prosecution is able to prove the motive, then the Court has to consider it and
see whether it is adequate or not. Where there is a direct evidence, the evidence of motive
is not of much significance.

12) Circumstantial evidence-

It is one of the well established fact in law that the witness may lie but the
circumstances never lie. It is not necessary that a direct ocular evidence is needed to prove
that a person was behind the crime. The guilt of a person can also be proved by circumstantial
evidence. For conviction in the case of circumstantial evidence the following conditions must
be accomplished. They are-

The circumstances from which the conclusion of the guilt is to be drawn should be
fully established.

The facts established should be consistent and they should not be explainable on any
other hypothesis except that the accused is guilty.

The nature of the circumstances should be conclusive.

They should include only the facts which are to be proved.

There must be a chain of evidence completely showing that in all human probability
the act must have been done by the accused.
13) May Presume-

The term may presume means that the Court has the authority to presume the fact
as proved, or to call upon for a confirmatory evidence, as the circumstances require. In such a
case the presumption is not a hard and fast presumption, incapable of rebuttal. Such
presumptions in law are called as juris et de jury. The Court may presume a fact or regard
such fact as proved, unless it is disproved, or it may ask for its proof.

14) Shall Presume-

When a Court presumes a certain fact it has no other option except considering the
fact as proved unless an evidence is given to disprove that fact. The party interested in
disproving that fact can produce an evidence if he can. In such a case the Court will have the
power to allow the opposite party to disprove the fact which is presumed as proved and if the
opposite party is successful in disproving the fact then the Court shall not presume the fact.
The words shall presume indicates that presumption therin is unrebuttable.

15) Conclusive Proof-

When one fact is declared by this act to be conclusive proof of another, the Court
shall, on proof of the one fact, regard the other as proved, and shall not allow evidence to be
given for the purpose of disproving it.

Importance

The enactment and adoption of the Indian Evidence Act was a path-breaking judicial
measure introduced in India, which changed the entire system of concepts pertaining to
admissibility of evidences in the Indian courts of law. Until then, the rules of evidences were
based on the traditional legal systems of different social groups and communities of India and
were different for different people depending on caste, religious faith and social position. The
Indian Evidence Act and introduced a standard set of law applicable to all Indians. The law is
mainly based upon the firm work by Sir James Fitzjames Stephen, who could be called the
founding father of this comprehensive piece of legislation.
The Act

The Indian Evidence Act, identified as Act no. 1 of 1872, and called the Indian
Evidence Act, 1872, has eleven chapters and 167 sections, and came into force 1 September
1872. At that time, India was a part of the British Empire. Over a period of more than 125
years since its enactment, the Indian Evidence Act has basically retained its original form
except certain amendments from time to time.

CONCLUSION

When India gained independence on 15 August 1947, the Act continued to be in force
throughout the Republic of India and Pakistan, except the state of Jammu and Kashmir. Then,
the Act continues in force in India, but it was repealed in Pakistan in 1984 by the Evidence
Order 1984 (also known as the "Qanun-e-Shahadat"). It also applies to all judicial
proceedings in the court, including the court martial. However, it does not apply on affidavits
and arbitration.The Indian Evidence Act, originally passed by the Imperial Legislative
Council in 1872, during the British Raj, contains a set of rules and allied issues governing
admissibility of evidence in the Indian courts of law.

REFERENCES

http://www.lawnn.com/important-features-indian-evidence-act/

http://www.cyberforensics.in/%28A
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_Evidence_Act
http://www.vakilno1.com/bareacts/laws/indianevidenceact.html

http://www.legalservicesindia.com/article/article/basic-principles-&-rules-of-law-of-
evidence-1173-1.html