Category: Evidence Act

Evidence — Video Conference Deposition — Procedure for Confronting Witness — The Supreme Court clarified and directed that in cases where a witness’s statement is recorded via video conferencing and a previous written statement is to be used for confrontation, a copy of the statement must be transmitted electronically to the witness, and the procedure under Sections 147 and 148 of the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam (or corresponding sections of the Evidence Act) must be followed to ensure fairness and integrity of the trial. Such directions are issued to avoid procedural irregularities and uphold the principles of fair trial, effective cross-examination, and proper appreciation of evidence.

2025 INSC 1322 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH RAJ KUMAR @ BHEEMA Vs. STATE OF NCT OF DELHI ( Before : Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta, JJ. ) Criminal…

Evidence Act, 1872 — Section 50 — Opinion as to relationship, when relevant — Opinion expressed by conduct of person with special knowledge on relationship is relevant — Essentials are court’s opinion, expression through conduct, and person having special knowledge — Conduct alone is not proof but an intermediate step to infer opinion — Opinion must be proved by direct evidence — Court needs to weigh evidence to form its own conclusion; Trial Court erred in treating opinion of witnesses as fact rather than evidence to be weighed and failed to independently assess credibility.

2025 INSC 1187 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH DHARMRAO SHARANAPPA SHABADI AND OTHERS Vs. SYEDA ARIFA PARVEEN ( Before : Ahsanuddin Amanullah and S.V.N. Bhatti, JJ. ) Civil Appeal…

Family Law — Partition Suit — Evidence — Testimony of a credible witness with special means of knowledge, coupled with presumption of marriage from prolonged cohabitation and absence of rebuttal by the opposing party, is sufficient to establish a valid marital relationship and grant a decree for partition.- Evidence Act, 1872 — Section 50 — Opinion on relationship, when relevant — Testimony of a witness with special means of knowledge of the relationship, including opinion expressed by conduct, is relevant — Witness resided in the same village, had long-standing familiarity, and spoke from personal observation, thus satisfying the requirement of special means of knowledge.

2025 INSC 1038 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH CHOWDAMMA (D) BY LR AND ANOTHER Vs. VENKATAPPA (D) BY LRS AND ANOTHER ( Before : Sanjay Karol and Prashant Kumar…

Evidence Act, 1872 — Appreciation of Evidence — Testimony of victim’s family witnesses admitted no dowry demand until examination-in-chief in court — Neighbour’s testimony stating no dowry demand, although brushed aside by lower courts, is relevant and gains credibility when other evidence is lacking — Reason for discarding neighbour’s testimony as speculative was erroneous, as information about dowry harassment can spread widely.

2025 INSC 1051 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH SMT. BHAGWATI DEVI Vs. STATE OF UTTARAKHAND ( Before : Aravind Kumar and N.V. Anjaria, JJ. ) Criminal Appeal No. 2616…

Evidence Act, 1872 — Section 35 — Relevancy of entries in public records — Entries made by public servants in discharge of official duty or by other persons in performance of a duty enjoined by law are relevant facts. — Family Register maintained under the U.P. Panchayat Raj Act, 1947, and Voters’ List are considered public records and public documents. — School records from a private, though government-recognized, school are not public documents, and the headmaster is not a public servant for the purposes of Section 35.

2025 INSC 918 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH SURESH Vs. STATE OF UTTAR PRADESH AND ANOTHER ( Before : Pankaj Mithal and Ahsanuddin Amanullah, JJ. ) Criminal Appeal No.…

Criminal Law — Circumstantial Evidence — Admitted Facts — Cause of death by gunshot from a specific weapon in appellant’s home undisputed — Appellant admitted removing the body and cleaning the scene — Discovery of articles linked to the incident from appellant’s disclosure relevant for Section 201 IPC.

2025 INSC 800 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH VAIBHAV Vs. THE STATE OF MAHARASHTRA ( Before : B.V. Nagarathna and Satish Chandra Sharma, JJ. ) Criminal Appeal No. 1643…

The interpretation of a written agreement to determine if it grants a ‘leave and license’ (potentially attracting deemed tenancy under S.15A Bombay Rent Act) or merely permits ‘conducting a business’ depends primarily on its written terms construed under Ss. 91/92 Evidence Act, excluding contradictory oral evidence.

2025 INSC 466 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH ANNAYA KOCHA SHETTY (DEAD) THROUGH LRS Vs. LAXMIBAI NARAYAN SATOSE SINCE DECEASED THROUGH LRS AND OTHERS ( Before : Pankaj Mithal…

Evidence Act, 1872 – Sections 32(3) and 32(5) – Cases in which statement of relevant fact by person who is dead or cannot be found, etc., is Relevant -The Court found inconsistencies in the respondents’ arguments and relied on evidence indicating a joint family business – The Court applied the principle of preponderance of probability and the Indian Evidence Act to assess the joint nature of the business – The Supreme Court concluded that the properties were joint family assets and should be partitioned accordingly. Cases Referred

2024 INSC 283 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH VITTHALRAO MAROTIRAO NAVKHARE — Appellant Vs. NANIBAI (DEAD), THROUGH LRS, AND OTHERS — Respondent ( Before : Aniruddha Bose and Sanjay…

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