What Facts Need Not Be Proved

3/23/13

What Facts ar e r elevant under Indian Evi dence Act

Disclaimer  Information Inf ormation in this document i s being p rov rovided ided as-is without any warranty warranty/guarant /guarantee ee of a ny kind. We We have taken all reas onable m easu res to e nsure the quality, quality, reliability, reliability, and accuracy of the information in this document. However, However, we may hav have e mad e mis takes and we will not be respon sibl e for any loss or damage of  any kind aris ing becaus e of the usage of this information. Further, Further, upon dis cov covery ery of any error or omis sions , we m ay delete, add to, or amend informa tion on this webs ite without notice. notice. This docum ent is intended to provide provide in formation only. If you you are s eeking advice on any matters relating to information on this we bsite, you you s hould – where appropriate – contact us directly with your your s pecific query or  seek advice from from quali fied profess profess ional people.

Q. What facts need not be proved? Generall y, if a fact is alle ged by any party to a suit su it or criminal crim inal cas case, e, that party has to provide provide proof pro of of the truthfulnes truthfulnes s of o f that fact to to the court. However, India Indian n Evidence Evidence Act allows the court to accept certain kinds of facts without any neces si ty to be proven prov en by any party party.. These kinds of facts facts are s pecified in Section 56, 57, 58, and 114. The provisi provisi ons in these sections are as follows Sect ion 56 - Facts judicially noticeable Section noticeable need ne ed not be proved - No fact of which the Court will take judicial notice need be proved. This means that if the court is bound to take notice of a particular fact, the parties do not have the burden of proving that fact. It is part of the judicial function to know that fact. For example, the court is bound to know the various laws and customs of the country. A party does not need to provide any proof when stating any law. Facts for which a court will take  judicial  judi cial notice are s pecified in Section 57. 57 . These include La ws in force in India, Public Acts Acts of Parliament, Local, and person acts declared by it to be judicially noticed, Articles of War for Indian armed forces, the rule of the road, land, or sea, that vehicles in India m ust keep to the left of a road etc, the the territories territories under the dom inion of Govt. Govt. of India. In In all these cas e, the court may resort appropriate appropriate books or docume nts of reference for for its aid. Also, the matters enum erated in this s ection are not exhaus exhaus tiv tive. e. The section m erely prov provides ides that the the court m ust take judicial notices of the facts enum erated in this section. It does not prohibit the court from from takings jud icial notice of any other facts. facts. To understand this point, we need to look at the me aning of judicial notice Mea ning of "Taking Judicial Notice" - It means recognition of som ething as existing or as being true without having Meaning having any proof. Judicial notice is bas ed upon reas ons o f convenience convenience and expediency. expediency. Certain Certain things a re so com mon ly known that any ordinary person is aware of it and it is a was te of tim tim e to seek any proof for such things. For exam exam ple, it is a com monl y known fact that that certain parts of MP, MP, Bihar, and AP AP are naxalite affected or that J&K is a terror striken area. A court does not need to s pend tim e in looking for its proof. Thus, Thus, jud icial notice is the cognizance cognizance taken by the the court itself of certain ma tt tter  er  which are s o notorious or clearly established that the evidence evidence of their existence existence is unnecess ary ary.. For examp examp le, in the case of Managing Committee of Raja Sidheshwar High School vs State of Bihar, AIR 1993,  the court took judicial notice of the fact that education in the state was virtually crumbled. In another case, court took judicial notice of the fact that several blind persons hav have e acquired great academi c dis tinct tinction. ion. If the the court is calle d upon by a person to take take judicial notice of a fact, fact, it ma y refuse to do so unles s and until s uch person produces a ny such book or documen t as it may consi consi der necess ary to enable it to do so. The basi c requirement for taking taking judicial notice is that the the fact has to be of a clas s that is s o generally as to give give rise to the presum ption that all pers ons a re aware of it. However, a judge cannot bring his personal knowledge into  judicial  judi cial notice if that knowledge i s not no t public knowledge. knowl edge. Just Jus t because becaus e a judge know s s om ething does doe s not no t make it a thing of  common knowledg knowledge. e. J Chandrachud obs Chandrachud obs erv erved ed that a court does not operate in i n ivory tower. It can can take cogni zance of facts that are ha ppeni ng all around it. Shutt Shutting ing judicial eye to to the existence existence of such facts facts and m att atters ers is in a s ense an i nsult to comm on sens e and would reduce the judicial process to a meaningles s and w asteful trial. No court therefore therefore need to to insi st upon a formal proof  of notorious facts su ch as date of polls, pas sing away of an eminent pers on, or events events that have have rocked the nation. Sect ion 58 - Facts Section Facts admitte admitted d need need not be be proved - No fact need be proved proved in any proceeding which the parties thereto or  their agents agree to adm it at the hearing, or which, before the hearing, they agree to adm it by any writing under their hands , or  which whi ch by any rule of pleadi ng in force at the the time they are deem ed to have have adm itted by their pleadings plea dings . Provided Provided that the Court may, in its di scretion, require the the facts facts adm itt itted ed to be proved proved otherwise than by such adm iss ions . This bas icall ically y m eans that if a fact has been adm a dm itted by a party, party, the other party need not n ot provide provide proof p roof of that fact. fact. For  For  examp ex amp le, admis sions ma de in written stateme stateme nts, or things things s aid before and accepted accepted to be said in the trial need not be proved. in averments m ade in a petition that have not been controverted controverted by the responden resp ondentt carry the weight weigh t of a fact admitted. www.hanumant.com/LOE- U ni t3- WhatFactsNeedNotBePr oved.html

1/2

3/23/13

What Facts are relevant under Indian Evidence Act

However, an adm iss ion m ay not necessarily constitute conclus ive evidence of the fact admi tted. Therefore, this s ection allows the court to as k for som e other proof of the adm itted fact. This is a dis cretionary power of the court. Section 114 - Court may presume existence of certain facts - The Court may pres um e the existence of any fact which it thinks likely to have happened, regard being had to the comm on course of natural events, human conduct and public and private busines s, in their relation to the facts of the particular case. For exam ple, a person m ay be presum ed to be dead if  his whereabouts are not known for s even years. Such facts need not be proven.

www.hanumant.com/LOE-Unit3-WhatFactsNeedNotBeProved.html

2/2