Opinion of Third person/ Expert opinion (SECTION 45-51 IEA)

 The term ‘opinion’ means something more than mere

relating of gossip or of hearsay. It means judgment or
belief, that is a belief or conviction resulting from what
one thinks on a particular question.

 What a person thinks in respect to the existence or non-

existence of a fact is opinion, and whatever is
presented to the senses of a witness and of which he
receives direct knowledge without any process of
thinking and reasoning is not opinion.
 As a general rule, the opinions of a third person’s
are irrelevant in evidence law.
SUNEEL KUMAR, ASSISTANT PROFESSOR, ICFAI LAW SCHOOL DEHRADUN. 06/06/2024
  But, there are cases in which the court is not in a position to form a correct
opinion (e.g. when the question involved is beyond the range of common
experience or common knowledge), without the help of persons who have
acquired special skill or experience in a particular subject.

 In these cases, the rule is relaxed, and expert evidence is admitted to enable
the court to come to a proper decision. The rule admitting ‘expert evidence* is,
thus, founded on necessity. Thus, Sections 45 to 51 deal with the cases when the
opinions of third parties become relevant.

Who is an expert : An expert witness is a person who has skill, knowledge,

devoted time and has undergone training in a field he deems to be an expert. An
expert witness is one who has devoted time and study to a special branch of
learning, and thus is specially skilled on those points on which he is asked to
state his opinion.
“Ramesh Chandra Agarwal v. Regency Hospital Ltd.,
( AIR 2010 SC 806)”
An expert is not a witness of fact but the evidence provided by him has an
advisory character. It is the duty of the expert witness, to provide necessary
information and scientific criteria to enable the judge to form his own
independent opinion. An experienced police officer may be permitted to give
‘expert’ evidence as to how an accident may have occurred.
SUNEEL KUMAR, ASSISTANT PROFESSOR, 2 ICFAI LAW SCHOOL DEHRADUN. 06/06/2024
 Section 45 - Opinions of experts
When the Court has to form an opinion upon a point of foreign law or
of science or art, or as identity of handwriting or finger impressions, the
opinions upon that point of persons specially skilled in such foreign
law, science or art, or in questions as to identity of handwriting or
finger impressions are relevant facts.
Such persons are called experts.
ILLUSTRATION :
(a)The question is, whether the death of A was caused by poison. The
opinions of experts as to the symptoms produced by the poison by
which A is supposed to have died are relevant.
(c) The question is, whether a certain document was written by A.
Another document is produced which is proved or admitted to have
been written by A. The opinions of experts on the question whether the
two documents were written by the same person or by different persons
are relevant.

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 Section 46 - Facts bearing upon opinions of experts
Facts, not otherwise relevant, are relevant if they support or are inconsistent
with the opinion of experts, when such opinions are relevant.

Illustrations
(a) The question is, whether A was poisoned by a certain poison. The fact that
other persons, who were poisoned by that person, exhibited certain symptoms
which experts affirm or deny to be the symptoms of that poison, is relevant.
(b) The question is, whether an obstruction to a harbour is caused by a certain
seawall. The fact that other harbours similarly situated in other respects, but
where there were no such sea-walls began to be obstructed at about the same
time, is relevant.
 “res inter alios acta”

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Evidentiary value of Experts :
The Evidence Act only provides about the relevancy of expert opinion but gives no
guidance as to its value.
The opinion of an expert should be supported by the facts and circumstances of
the cases, contradiction due to other evidence or fallacies in the findings of the
expert render the evidence inadmissible and unreliable.
An expert’s opinion is not binding upon the court.
The value of expert opinion suffers from various drawbacks'. There is the danger
of error or deliberate falsehood. “These privileged persons might be half blind,
incompetent or even corrupt.” It would be highly unsafe to convict a person on the
sole testimony of an expert. Therefore, a conviction cannot be based solely on the
opinion of an expert without substantial corroboration.

 Murarilal v. State of M.P. (AIR 1980 SC 531)

 S. Gopal Reddy v. State of A.P, (AIR 1996 SC 2184)

In this case the court observed that expert evidence are just a mere opinion
and not the substantive or a probative evidence; according to the procedural rule the
opinion or the inference of the expert is not safe as they don’t have any independent
value so they must be corroborated with the circumstantial evidence.

SUNEEL KUMAR, ASSISTANT PROFESSOR, 5 ICFAI LAW SCHOOL DEHRADUN. 06/06/2024

Section 47 - Opinion as to handwriting, when relevant
When the Court has to form an opinion as to the person by whom any document
was written or signed, the opinion of any person acquainted with the handwriting
of the person by whom it is supposed to be written or signed that it was or was not
written or signed by that person, is a relevant fact.
Explanation.-A person is said to be acquainted with the handwriting of another
person when he has seen that person write, or when he has received documents
purporting to be written by that person in answer to documents written by himself
or under his authority and addressed to that person, or when, in the ordinary
course of business, documents purporting to be written by that person have been
habitually submitted to him.

 Ram Narain v. State of U.P.(AIR 1973 SC 2200)

Murarilal v. State of M.P. (AIR 1980 SC 531)

SUNEEL KUMAR, ASSISTANT PROFESSOR, 6 ICFAI LAW SCHOOL DEHRADUN 06/06/2024

 Modes of Proving Handwriting: -
The Evidence Act recognize the following modes
of proving handwriting:
1. By the evidence of the writer himself.
2. By the opinion of an expert (Section 45).
3. By the evidence of a person who is
acquainted with the handwriting of the person
in question (Section 47).
4. By the court itself comparing the handwriting
(Section 73).

47A. Opinion as to digital signature when relevant

When the Court has to form an opinion as to the digital signature of any
person, the opinion of the Certifying Authority which has issued the Digital
Signature Certificate is a relevant fact.

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 Section 48 - Opinion as to existence of right or custom, when relevant
When the Court has to form an opinion as to the existence of any general custom
or right, the opinions, as to the existence of such custom or right, of persons who
would be likely to know of its existence if it existed, are relevant.
Explanation.—The expression "general custom or right" includes customs or
rights common to any considerable class of persons.

Illustration
The right of the villagers of a particular village to use the water of a particular
well is a general right within the meaning of this section.

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Section 49 - Opinion as to usages, tenets, etc., when relevant
When the Court has to form an opinion as to—
the usages and tenets of any body of men or family,
the constitution and government of any religious or charitable foundation, or
the meaning of words or terms used in particular districts or by particular
classes of people, the opinions of persons having special means of knowledge
thereon, are relevant facts.

Section 50 - Opinion or relationship, when relevant

When the Court has to form an opinion as to the relationship of one person to
another, the opinion, expressed by conduct, as to the existence of such
relationship, or any person who, as a member of the family or otherwise, has
special means of knowledge on the subject, is relevant fact:
Provided that such opinion shall not be sufficient to prove a marriage in
proceedings under the Indian Divorce Act, 1869 (4 of 1869) or in prosecutions
under sections 494, 495, 497 or 498 of the Indian Penal Code (45 of 1860).

Illustrations (next slide)

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 Illustrations
(a) The question is, whether A and B, were married.
The fact that they were usually received and treated by their friends as
husband and wife, is relevant.
(b) The question is, whether A was the legitimate son of B. The fact that A
was always treated as such by members of the family, is relevant.

Section 51 - Grounds of opinion, when relevant

Whenever the opinion of any living person is relevant, the grounds on
which such opinion is based are also relevant.
Illustration
An expert may give an account of experiments performed by him for the
purpose of forming his opinion.

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 Murarilal v. State of M.P. (AIR
1980 SC 531)

SUNEEL KUMAR, ASSISTANT PROFESSOR, ICF 11 06/06/2024

AI LAW SCHOOL DEHRADUN.