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A DETAILED EVALUATION ON THE IMPORTANCE OF PRIMARY EVIDENCE (By: Krithika Jamkhandi)
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Article Details
A DETAILED
EVALUATION ON THE IMPORTANCE OF PRIMARY EVIDENCE
Authored By: Krithika Jamkhandi
Introduction
The means by
which one satisfies the burden of proof is through evidence. The key question
that must be answered in order to establish and prove the defence or mitigation
or to disprove a prima-facie case or presumption in a civil, criminal, or
administrative case is whether the evidence that has been presented to you
meets the criteria or is sufficient to provide such evidence.
It is a
known truth that the decision will be made in the person's favour if the weight
of the evidence tips that way. Such proof will be sufficient and legally
sufficient for the judicial action that the parties have requested or prayed
for.
The word
"evidence" comes from the Latin word "evidre," which means
to show clearly or to determine.
Significance
Of Evidentiary Elements
Bits of
evidence are presented by both parties in order to prove a case in a court of
law, and certain systematised rules are necessary to ensure that the evidence
is presented within the parameters advised by law. The Indian Evidence Act,
1872 is the law that governs the presentation of evidence in judicial
proceedings, whether they be civil, criminal, or of another type, with the
exception of situations where it is currently prohibited by the law.
Documentary
Evidence, as defined in Section 3 of the Indian Evidence Act of 1872, is
defined as "All Documents Produced for the Inspection of the Court."
All documents delivered with the Court's approval and under its watchful eye
are implied by and included in documentary evidence.
It is held
in Lucas v. Williams, 1892 Q.B, in legal terms, primary evidence is that
which must be shown first while secondary evidence is that which may be
presented in the absence of superior evidence. once a suitable explanation for
it has been provided.
Oral
Evidence:
It refers refers to all statements that witnesses are
allowed or required to make in front of the court regarding the facts being
investigated. Additionally, oral evidence is only comprised of uttered words or
hand gestures. When a fact can be established through oral testimony, an oral
statement from the witness is not always required. A dumb individual can so
testify through writing or with signals. Oral testimony can also be used to
support the facts.
Oral
evidence encompasses both the evidence presented by a party through the
examination of witnesses and the evidence presented by the other side during
the witness' cross-examination.
Two
Different Classes Are Isolated For Documents:
The
provisions relating to evidence given in any civil or criminal proceeding in
any court are outlined in the Indian Evidence Act, 1872. Evidence can serve as
proof that demonstrates the truth or validity of a belief or a statement. It
should be noted that in any lawsuit or procedure, evidence must be presented
before the court only to establish the existence or absence of a fact in
contention or any other fact pertinent to the lawsuit or proceeding.
Both the
Criminal Procedure Code and the Civil Procedure Code govern the production of
court documents. The production of a document known as Primary Evidence or
Secondary Evidence should be used to demonstrate the content of documents.
As a result,
the documentary evidence is divided into three categories according to the
Indian Evidence Act:
Sections 61
to 73 A cover general guidelines for demonstrating documentary evidence in
various situations.
The second
category is public documents, which are covered by sections 74 to 78, and the
last category is presumptions as to documents, which is covered by sections 79
to 90 A.
There are
two ways to prove the contents of a certain document in a court of law,
according to Section 61, which deals with proof about the contents of
documents.
Both primary
evidences discussed in sections 62 and 63 and secondary evidence are types of
evidence.
There are
only two ways to prove the document's content, according to basic norms.
Section 62
– Meaning & Significance
Documentary
evidence is preferred to oral pieces of evidence, especially in the area of
reliability, according to any document submitted for the judge's consideration.
This idea is derived from the philosophy known as Vox Audita Perit, Literra
Scripta Manet, which states that only written words survive after being
uttered. This means that when there are two types of evidence presented to the court
one is oral evidence, and the other is documentary evidence the documentary
evidence will always take precedence.
The document
that was prepared for the Court's review is referred to as the primary
evidence. In general, primary evidence is the strongest type of testimony
allowed in court, and secondary evidence which may be presented in the absence
of main evidence, which the law mandates must be presented first is only
permitted under very specific conditions and requires a legal justification.
Explanation
1: When a document is executed in multiple parts, each part serves as primary
evidence of the document. When a document is executed in counterparts, each of
which is signed by just one or a small number of the parties, each counterpart
serves as primary evidence against those parties.
Any document
requiring proof must be provided in its best possible shape. The Indian
Evidence Act, 1872, Section 64, allows for the proof of documents using primary
evidence. It states that any document produced in a legal action or proceeding
must be supported by direct proof.
Explanation
2: When several documents are produced using a single, consistent process, such
as printing, lithography, or photography, each one serves as primary proof of
the information contained in the others. However, if the documents are all
copies of a single original, they do not serve as primary proof of the
information contained in the original. Illustration A person is seen in
possession of several placards that were all printed simultaneously from the
same original. All of the placards serve as primary evidence for the
information on the others, but none of them serve as primary evidence for the
information on the original placard.
Furthermore,
it is only possible to submit secondary evidence in the absence of main
evidence by citing the cause of its absence. The greatest available proof of an
object's existence is provided by primary evidence, also referred to as best
evidence because it is the real object itself. It varies from secondary
evidence, which is an exact replica of the original or a stand-in for it. A
side must present primary evidence as proof if it is available to them.
However, if its non-availability has been sufficiently proved, the party may
provide a credible substitute for it if the original evidence is inaccessible
due to loss or destruction, for example, without their fault.
Scope And
Limitation
No notice is
necessary before to presenting a primary piece of evidence. A notice must be
issued before the secondary evidence is submitted, although this restriction is
only a matter of good judgement. The best evidence is primary evidence, which
should always be presented. Only when Section 65's rules apply to the case is
secondary evidence admissible in court. In a nutshell, secondary evidence is of
lower evidentiary value because it is a replacement for primary evidence.
The primary
evidence described in section 64 of the Indian Evidence Act must generally be
presented, although there are several exceptions that are covered in section 65
of the Indian Evidence Act. In Section 65, it is discussed that secondary
evidence may be used to support a claim in certain limited circumstances.
Therefore, if a given instance is not covered by section 65, it can only be
shown via primary evidence.
The High
Court of Madras (Madurai Bench) has made the observation that basic electronic
record evidence under Section 62 of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872 would be
admitted in evidence without meeting the requirements of Section 65(b) of the
Act.
In the case
of Prithi Chand v. State of Himachal Pradesh, it was decided that carbon
copies are primary evidence of one another because they came from the same
source and went through the same procedure. But such carbon copies cannot be
considered as the primary evidence against the original document.
In the case
of Sheo Nath Prasad vs. Sarjoo Nonia and Others, it was established that
if a plaintiff alleges a loan and submits a document that he claims to be a
promissory note with his complaint and it is discovered to be unstamped or
insufficiently stamped, there can be no proof of the contents of the document,
including whether it is signed by anyone or not, if so, who the person signing
it is, or of the terms of According to Section 64 of the Indian Evidence Act,
the document is not admissible in such a situation as primary evidence.
In the case
of Kripa Shankar v. Gurudas AIR 1995 SC 2152 (Supreme Court of India
case), in this case the appeal to the Apex court was dismissed with no cost
stating that an ex-parte affidavit cannot be documentary evidence of any form
without affording an opportunity to another party to test the accuracy of its
contents by cross examination.
Conclusion
This leads
us to the conclusion that a document is the greatest type of evidence to prove
a fact because it is trustworthy and less likely to be falsified because it is
in a tangible, written form. Documentary evidence is the best type of evidence
that the court will accept. Whatever the type of evidence, whether it be documentary,
visual, or testimonial, each piece of evidence is crucial to making an accurate
judgement of the case. Evidence is crucial in both civil and criminal cases
because it is necessary for successful factual proof. Without it, a case cannot
be won. Additionally, the sorts of evidence matter in terms of their
admissibility and relevancy requirements. Additionally, there aren't any
watertight chambers that can fit pieces of evidence. To make it easier to
analyse and comprehend the data, it has been divided into several classes based
on a number of criteria. There are several fundamental concepts of evidence
that are relevant and generally applicable.
Documentary
evidence presented as primary evidence is regarded as the best type of
evidence, and secondary evidence is only taken into consideration in
exceptional cases where the primary evidence is unavailable. Despite this,
secondary evidence is crucial in assisting courts in rendering a decision and
paving the way for justice.
Bibliography
1) Batuk Lal, The Law of Evidence; 19th Ed. (2011),
Central Law Agency.
2) Singh Avatar, Principles of the law of evidence; 19th
Ed. (2011), Central Law Publications.
3) The Indian Evidence by KD Gaur, Universal Law
Publishing - An Imprint of Lexis Nexis; 1st Ed. (1 December 2016)
4) V. P. Sarathi's Law
of Evidence by KA Pandey, Eastern Book Company; 8th Ed. (2021)
Article Information
A DETAILED EVALUATION ON THE IMPORTANCE OF PRIMARY EVIDENCE (By: Krithika Jamkhandi)
Authors: Krithika Jamkhandi
- Journal IJLRA
- ISSN 2582-6433
- Published 2022/07/29
- Volume 2
- Issue 7
About Journal
International Journal for Legal Research and Analysis
- Abbreviation IJLRA
- ISSN 2582-6433
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