Law of Evidence Notes | B.A. LL.B. (Five Year Course) Semester 10 | Mumbai University | munotes

Contents

Module I

1. The Law of Evidence Is Now the Sakshya Adhiniyam 1
2. What the Law of Evidence Does 7
3. Where the Adhiniyam Applies 12
4. Court, Fact and Facts in Issue 18
5. Relevancy and Admissibility 24
6. Document and Evidence 30
7. Proved, Disproved and Not Proved 34
8. May Presume, Shall Presume and Conclusive Proof 38
9. Kinds of Evidence 42
10. Res Gestae 47
11. Occasion, Cause, Effect and Opportunity 53
12. Motive and Preparation 57
13. Conduct 62
14. Facts That Explain, Introduce or Identify 69
15. Things Said or Done by a Conspirator 75
16. Facts Not Otherwise Relevant, and Alibi 82
17. Damages, Rights and Customs 87
18. State of Mind and Body 91
19. Accident, Intention and Course of Business 97
20. What an Admission Is 102
21. Who Can Make an Admission 107
22. Proving an Admission 112
23. Admissions Are Not Conclusive 118
24. What a Confession Is 122
25. Confessions Caused by Inducement, Threat, Coercion or Promise 127
26. Confession to a Police Officer 133
27. Information Leading to a Discovery 139
28. Confession of a Co-Accused 145
29. Judicial, Extra-Judicial and Retracted Confessions 150
30. Statements by Persons Who Cannot Be Called 156
31. Dying Declarations 161
32. Recording and Weighing a Dying Declaration 167
33. Statements in the Course of Business or Against Interest 173
34. Statements on Public Rights, Relationship and Family Matters 178
35. Evidence Given in an Earlier Proceeding 183
36. Books of Account and Public Records 187
37. Maps, Acts, Law Books and the Whole Statement 192
38. Judgments That Bar a Second Suit or Trial 197
39. Judgments in Rem 201
40. Other Judgments, and Fraud or Incompetence 206
41. Expert Opinion 212
42. The Examiner of Electronic Evidence 217
43. Opinion on Handwriting and Signature 221
44. Opinions on Custom, Usage and Relationship 227
45. Character in Civil Cases 232
46. Character in Criminal Cases 236
47. Character and Sexual History in Sexual Offence Cases 242
48. The IT Act Definitions: Computers, Data and Records 250
49. The IT Act Definitions: Signatures, Certificates and Intermediaries 256

Module II Proofs and Burden of Proof (ss. 56-117)

1. Facts Judicially Noticed 263
2. Facts Admitted 269
3. Oral Evidence and the Hearsay Rule 274
4. Primary Evidence 280
5. Secondary Evidence 285
6. When Secondary Evidence May Be Given 291
7. Proof of Signature and Handwriting 298
8. Proof of Attested Documents 303
9. Electronic and Digital Records 310
10. The Certificate Under Section 63 315
11. How the Courts Read the Certificate Rule 323
12. Recordings, CCTV and Messages as Evidence 328
13. Electronic and Digital Signatures 333
14. Public and Private Documents 337
15. Certified Copies and Official Documents 341
16. How Presumptions Work 346
17. Presumptions as to Documents 351
18. Presumptions as to Electronic Records 357
19. Documents Not Produced and Thirty-Year-Old Documents 362
20. Presumption as to Certain Offences 366
21. Birth During Marriage and Legitimacy 370
22. Abetment of Suicide by a Married Woman 376
23. Dowry Death 380
24. The Court May Presume 385
25. Absence of Consent in Rape Prosecutions 391
26. When the Terms Are in Writing 394
27. No Oral Agreement Against the Writing 399
28. Ambiguity in Documents 404
29. Strangers to the Document and Wills 409
30. Burden of Proof 413
31. Burden of Proof in a Criminal Trial 418
32. Facts Especially Within Knowledge 423
33. Alive or Dead: Thirty Years and Seven Years 428
34. Relationship, Ownership and Active Confidence 432
35. Estoppel 436
36. Kinds and Limits of Estoppel 440
37. Estoppel of Tenants, Licensees, Acceptors and Bailees 445

Module III Witnesses (ss. 118-167)

1. Who May Testify 449
2. Child Witnesses 453
3. Witnesses Unable to Communicate Verbally 457
4. Husband and Wife as Witnesses 462
5. Judges and Magistrates as Witnesses 466
6. Affairs of State and Official Communications 469
7. Informers and Professional Communications 474
8. Documents a Witness Need Not Produce, and Incriminating Answers 479
9. Accomplice Evidence 483
10. Number of Witnesses 488
11. Order of Witnesses, and the Judge's Ruling on Admissibility 491
12. Examination-in-Chief, Cross-Examination and Re-Examination 495
13. Refreshing Memory 499
14. Production of Documents in Court 504
15. Leading Questions 509
16. Matters in Writing and Previous Statements 513
17. Questions Lawful in Cross-Examination 520
18. Indecent, Scandalous and Insulting Questions 526
19. Hostile Witnesses 531
20. Impeaching the Credit of a Witness 536
21. Corroboration 541
22. The Judge's Power to Put Questions 547
23. Improper Admission and Rejection of Evidence 554

Module IV Forensic Evidence Use and applicability of Forensic Evidence in the

1. What Forensic Science Is 559
2. The Branches of Forensic Science 564
3. Forensic Evidence and Its Kinds 568
4. The Crime Scene and the Chain of Custody 572
5. DNA Evidence 578
6. Fingerprints and Other Impressions 584
7. Firearms and Ballistics 589
8. Questioned Documents 594
9. Digital Forensics 598
10. Medical Evidence and the Post-Mortem 603
11. Forensic Evidence in Criminal Cases 608
12. Forensic Evidence in Civil Cases 613
13. Forensic Evidence Under the Adhiniyam 617
14. Scientific Tests and the Right Against Self-Incrimination 622
15. Who Is an Expert Witness 627
16. Admissibility and Weight of Expert Opinion 632
17. Medical and Eyewitness Evidence in Conflict 636