Salient Features

1.

Indian Evidence Act is drafted by Sir James Fitzrald Stephen

an English man.

2.

The Act is applicable to whole of India excluding the state of

Jammu & Kashmir.

3.

The Act consists of 167 Sections.

4.

The Act is applicable to

a. All the courts
conducted.

where

judicial

proceedings

are

b. Election tribunals
c. Labor court
d. Industrial tribunal
e. Quasi-judicial bodies.
5.

Law of evidence is Lexifori ie place of proceedings.

6.

Sec 5 of IEA deals with the basic principal of evidence. As

per this Section The expression fact in issue has been
defined U/S 3 of IEA.

7.

Relevant facts have been explained from Sec 6 to 55.

8.

It is the duty of the party to the suit of proceedings to

produce the best evidence before the court.

9. Best evidence means

a.

Oral evidence must be direct (Sec 60)

b.

Produce only the primary evidence. (Sec 64)

c.

Whenever a transaction should be in writing as per law, to

prove the transaction only that document which contained
the transaction should be produced before the court (Sec 91)

d.

Here say evidence is no evidence (Sec 60)

10.

Even though the general principal is that here say evidence

is no evidence, there are so many Sections under IEA where
here say evidence becomes admissible. For ex:

a. Res Gestae (Sec 6)

b. Admissions (Sec 17 -23 & 31)
c. Confessions (Sec 24 30)
d. Statements of persons who cannot be called as witnesses
including dying declaration, opinions of third persons (Sec 45
-51) etc
11.

In criminal law as a general principal burden of proof always

lies on the public proof always lies on the public prosecutor.

12.

In criminal law the prosecutor must prove the guilt of the

accused beyond all reasonable doubt. But in civil law the
parties are required to prove their respective claims by
preponderance of possibilities.

13.

In criminal law accused person should be presumed to be

innocent by the court till his guilt is proved beyond all
reasonable doubts by the public prosecutor. This principal is
not applicable to civil cases.

14.

In criminal law benefit of doubt should always be given to the

accused person. This principal is not applicable to civil
cases.

15.

The prosecutor has to prove before the court corpus delecti

ie commission of offence in full. When it comes to civil cases
it is the duty of the parties to bring on to the records only the
relevant evidence.

16.

When it comes to criminal cases it is the duty of the judge to

bring on to the record only the relevant evidence (Facts in
issue or relevant facts in the case)

17.

IEA is applicable equally to the civil as well as criminal cases

but some of the provisions of IEA are
a. applicable only to criminal cases. Ex
Confession (Sec 24 -30),
Relevancy of character in criminal cases (Sec 53-53A
54) Accomplice (Sec 133)
b. exclusively applicable only to civil cases. Ex
Relevancy of character in civil cases (Sec 52 -55),
Estoppel (Sec 115 to 117)

18.

The expression evidence has been derived from a Latin term

evidare meaning being plain, being apparent.