KSLU Solved Question Papers
Law of Evidence
Previous Year Question Paper with Solution
B.A. LL.B. (Five Years) · Sem 8
2026 Jan Examination
munotes.in
Mumbai
B.A. LL.B. (Five Years) Sem 8 Law of Evidence 2026 Jan Question Paper with Solutions
First published on munotes.in on 21 October 2026.
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The question paper reproduced here is the paper as set by Karnataka State Law University at the 2026 Jan examination.
Contents
The questions below are the paper as Karnataka State Law University set it at the 2026 Jan examination, in the order it was set.
MarksPage
MarksPage
The Paper as Set
The questions in this volume are the questions asked at the 2026 Jan examination, reproduced as Karnataka State Law University set them, in the order it set them. Long reading passages are shortened to their first and last lines and our summary; the original paper prints them in full. Only the answers are ours. See the original question paper.
Duration 3 hours · Total marks 80 · 20 questions answered
How to use this volume
Solve the paper first, under exam conditions and against the clock. Then read the answers here and mark your own. Reading a solution before attempting the question feels productive and teaches very little, because recognising an answer is not the same as being able to write one.
Q1
Unit I
(a)Explain fact, fact in issue and relevant fact.[10]
Answer
For full marks, cover: why the three terms matter (section 3 of the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023, old section 5 of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872: evidence of facts in issue and relevant facts "and of no others"); "fact" in section 2(1)(f), physical and psychological facts, with the illustrations; "facts in issue" in section 2(1)(g), its Explanation and illustration; "relevant" in section 2(1)(k) and the relevancy sections 4 to 50; relevancy is not admissibility (Ram Bihari Yadav); a worked example and a table; a conclusion.
Why these three words matter
The whole law of relevancy rests on one sentence. Section 3 of the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023 says evidence may be given of the existence or non-existence of every fact in issue "and of such other facts as are hereinafter declared to be relevant, and of no others". It was section 5 of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872, and the wording is the same.
So a court must first know what a fact is. Then it must know which facts are in issue. Then it must know which other facts the Adhiniyam declares relevant. The three definitions are in section 2(1), clauses (f), (g) and (k). Under the 1872 Act they were all in section 3, the interpretation clause.
Fact: section 2(1)(f)
Section 2(1)(f) says "fact" means and includes "(i) any thing, state of things, or relation of things, capable of being perceived by the senses; (ii) any mental condition of which any person is conscious." So there are two kinds of fact.
- Physical facts. These are things the senses can perceive. A knife on the floor is a thing. The knife lying beside the body is a relation of things. A room in disorder is a state of things.
- Psychological facts. These are states of mind of which a person is conscious, such as intention, knowledge, good faith, fraud or a feeling of pain.
The illustrations make two useful points. First, "That a person said certain words, is a fact". Whether the words were true is a separate question. Second, "That a person holds a certain opinion, has a certain intention, acts in good faith, or fraudulently ... is a fact". An intention cannot be seen, but it is still a fact, and it can be proved from other facts.
The 1872 Act had a fifth illustration: "That a man has a certain reputation, is a fact." The Adhiniyam drops it and says "person" for "man". Character evidence is still governed by sections 46 to 50, which were sections 52 to 55 of the 1872 Act.
Facts in issue: section 2(1)(g)
Section 2(1)(g) says "facts 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."
- A right, liability or disability must follow from it. The substantive law decides what must be proved. The pleadings or the charge decide which of those things are disputed.
- "Asserted or denied". A fact is in issue when one side asserts it and the other denies it. If both sides admit it, it need not be proved (section 53, old section 58).
- The Explanation. A civil court records issues of fact under the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908. The fact asked about in each such issue is a fact in issue. In a criminal trial the charge and the defence raised do the same work.
The illustration takes a murder trial. The facts in issue may be that A caused B's death and that A intended it. They may also be that A had grave and sudden provocation, or was of unsound mind at the time. The first two are the prosecution's facts. The last two are facts the defence raises. Both kinds become facts in issue once raised.
Relevant fact: section 2(1)(k)
Section 2(1)(k) says a fact is relevant to another "when it is connected with the other in any of the ways referred to in the provisions of this Adhiniyam relating to the relevancy of facts". Those provisions are sections 4 to 50 (old sections 6 to 55).
So relevancy under the Act is legal, not merely logical. A fact may help a party and still be irrelevant if no section connects it to a fact in issue. Some common connections are these.
- Facts forming part of the same transaction (section 4, old section 6, res gestae).
- Facts which are the occasion, cause or effect of a fact in issue (section 5, old section 7).
- Motive, preparation and conduct (section 6, old section 8).
- Admissions, confessions and statements of persons who cannot be called (sections 15 to 33, old sections 17 to 39).
- Opinions of experts and character (sections 39 to 50, old sections 45 to 55).
Lawyers call facts in issue the principal facts. They call relevant facts the evidentiary facts, because the court infers the principal facts from them.
Relevant is not the same as admissible
Facts. In Ram Bihari Yadav v. State of Bihar, (1998) 4 SCC 517, decided on 21 April 1998, a police officer was convicted of murdering his wife by setting her on fire with kerosene at Jharia. Two writings were said to be her dying declarations. One had been recorded by an Assistant Sub-Inspector who was never examined. The other had been recorded by a Judicial Magistrate.
Held. The Supreme Court said relevancy and admissibility are often used as synonyms, but their legal effect is different. Facts which are relevant are often not admissible. Facts which are admissible may not be relevant, such as questions in cross-examination that test a witness's truthfulness. The weight of evidence is a third question. The first writing was rejected because its maker was never examined. The Magistrate's record was relied on, and the conviction was upheld.
Why it bears. A relevant fact is only the first gate. A confession to a police officer is highly relevant, but section 23(1) (old section 25) forbids proving it. The judge decides admissibility under section 141 (old section 136).
The three kinds of fact side by side
| Fact in issue | Relevant fact | Irrelevant fact | |
|---|---|---|---|
| What it is | a fact from which the right or liability itself follows | a fact connected to a fact in issue in a way sections 4 to 50 describe | any other fact |
| Murder example | that A caused B's death | that A bought poison the day before (preparation, section 6) | that A failed an examination twenty years ago |
| Can evidence be given of it? | yes, section 3 | yes, section 3 | no: "and of no others" |
A worked example
Kavita sues her brother Sunil, saying their late father orally gifted her the family shop in 2019. Sunil denies any gift. The court frames the issue: did the father gift the shop to the plaintiff in 2019? The making of the gift is the fact in issue. The father once told the family priest he wanted Kavita to have the shop. That statement may be relevant, because it shows his intention (section 12, old section 14). Sunil's rudeness at a wedding in 2010 touches nothing in dispute, so section 3 shuts it out.
Conclusion. A fact under section 2(1)(f) of the Adhiniyam is anything the senses can perceive or any state of mind a person is conscious of. A fact in issue under section 2(1)(g) is one from which a disputed right, liability or disability necessarily follows. The pleadings or the charge fix it. A relevant fact under section 2(1)(k) is one connected to a fact in issue in a way sections 4 to 50 recognise. Section 3 admits evidence of these two kinds "and of no others". Ram Bihari Yadav adds that a relevant fact must still be admissible, and its weight is decided last. The law is unchanged from sections 3 and 5 of the 1872 Act.
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