Hello friends, in this article ‘facts’ have been described under the Evidence Act, which is an important subject of evidence law because facts are important in a case. The foundation stone of An attempt has been made to explain what is fact in evidence method, its definition, relevant fact and contentious fact and what is the major difference between evidence and fact in easy language.
What is the fact –
Facts have a unique place in the law of evidence, because all rights and obligations depend on facts and they arise from them. A fact is considered to be a piece of information or information that can be verified as true or false.
These can be presented as evidence in court and can be used to support or refute arguments or claims made by the parties involved.
According to Peyton – Facts are the raw material, on the basis of which law creates certain rights and duties. It can be proved by evidence or observation. Fact is related to any present object, situation or event, its scope is wide, it includes not only tangible or intangible but any kind of subject matter that can be known by senses.
In a legal context, it is a particular event or circumstance that is relevant to a legal dispute or proceeding.
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Definition of fact
In general, fact refers to such a thing that exists, that is, it means the thing that exists. It does not include the mental fact of man, but in the law of evidence it is accepted in a wide sense. Under this, both ‘the existence of an object and the mental state, emotion, personal attitude’ have been included.
Definition of fact in section 3 of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872 –
“fact” means and includes —
(1) Any thing, state of things or relation of things which is perceptible by the senses,
(2) any mental condition of which any person is aware.”
Example :-
(a) that a certain substance is arranged in a certain order in a certain place,
(b) that any person saw or heard anything,
(c) that any person utters certain words,
(d) that a certain person holds a certain opinion, has a certain intention, acts in good faith or fraudulently or uses a particular word in a particular sense or has a particular feeling or was at a specified time,
(e) That a person has a certain reputation is a fact.
According to the above definition – statements, feelings, opinions, state of mind are facts in the same way as we can know such facts by touching, seeing or any other phenomenon through eyes.
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Types of facts
According to the famous jurist Bentham – Bentham divided the facts into two parts (physical and mental) which have been included in the Indian Evidence Act and according to section 3, the following things come under the facts –
(i) Physical or physical fact –
any thing or state of things, or relation of things which can be perceived by man by his senses, that is, by seeing, smelling, touching, hearing or tasting Maybe, it is also given the noun of external facts.
Example – A person was bleeding, his face was pale, his body was black, he was vomiting etc. All these facts are material facts which can be proved by the oral evidence of a person or by circumstantial evidence.
Illustrations (a), (b) and (c) of the definition mentioned above relate to material facts.
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(ii) Mental or internal facts –
Generally mental state is not called a fact, but in the definition of evidence law, examples (d) and (e) are related to mental or internal facts. Such facts remain inside the mind of a person, therefore they cannot be perceived by the eyes. In simple words, such facts of which a person is aware,
such as – some intention, knowledge, goodwill, hatred, opinion etc. are good examples of mental facts. These facts are to be proved by confession or circumstantial evidence.
For example – A strikes B with a sword or stick. The infliction of a blow with a sword or stick is a physical or binding fact, which can be proved by the evidence of a person who saw A strike B. But so far as A‘s intention is concerned, it is a mental fact which can be proved only by his confession or by circumstantial evidence.
By fact is meant not only a particular event, but also includes a continuing condition or fact, such as possession (AIR 1915 Madras 249). Similarly, the falling of a tree is an event and the existence of a tree is a state of an object, here both the event and the state are equally facts.
AIR 1916 Lahore 414 states that misrepresentation of a fact is a misrepresentation of a person’s intention.
Facts include all those physical conditions that are perceptible to man through the five senses (eye, nose, ear, tongue, skin), such as – some things are kept in a certain order, a person saw something, Heard or said or feels something by smelling, all these are facts.
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Types of facts from the point of view of study
From the point of view of study, facts can be divided into two parts – (i) relevant faccts, and (ii) controversial faccts.
(i) Relevant facts –
All those facts are relevant, which are capable of providing any reasonable presumption about the disputed subject. Thus, the meaning of a relevant fact is that ‘fact’ which has the force of probability to some degree. A fact can be said to be relevant only if it is related in one way or the other to the fact in issue under the rules of section 6 to 55.
The Indian Evidence Act does not give a literal definition of the word “relevant” but only relevant facts are described in Section 3. According to this – “One fact should be related to another facct and that relationship should be such that the existence or non-existence of one fact depends on the other fact”.
According to Stephen – When any two facts to which it applies are so related to each other that, according to the ordinary course of events, either singly or in combination with other facts, the past, present or future existence or A fact that proves or makes non-existence possible is called a relevant fact.
According to Best – the most comprehensive and clear rule in the rules of evidence is that – the evidence presented should be specific to those subjects and should be limited to those which are the subject of dispute or the subject of investigation.
Relevant facts from the point of view of law are those facts, which are not themselves the facts in dispute, but are related to the facts in dispute in such a way that they make the facts in dispute possible and improbable. No fact alone is relevant, it depends on the relationship between two facts.
A plaintiff challenging the existence or validity of an arbitration agreement may prove that fact by relevant facts (AIR 1968, M.P. 33). Similarly ‘for’ can be a relevant fact.
inconsistent and inadmissible
Nothing is admissible in evidence which is not directly or indirectly relevant to those matters. Generally, the reasons for which any evidence can be refused to be accepted considering it inconsistent or inconsistent or contradictory to each other, are three –
(a) the relation between the faccts in chief and in evidence; He is so distant and imaginary,
(b) that in view of the pleadings it has become necessary to give evidence,
(c) that the evidence has ceased to be necessary by reason of the admission of the opposite party.
In the case of ‘Dalveer Singh v. State of Punjab’, it has been held by the Court that – Evaluation of evidence is a question of fact, the decision of which depends on the circumstances of each case. (AIR 1987 SC 1328) )
In the case of ‘Sukhdev Singh vs. State of Punjab’, the court has said that – the evidence of any person should not be treated mechanically as unreliable merely on the ground that he is the next of kin of the deceased. (AIR 1991 SC 318)
(ii) the facts in issue –
The faccts in issue are the cornerstone of a case, it is also called the disputed facts. Controversial fact refers to such facts which are propounded by one party in a case and the other party accepts or rejects it. In simple language, those subjects which are disputed between the parties are called disputed facts.
The facts in question give impetus to the judicial process, in the absence of which neither the hearing of the case nor the evidence is required. As per section 3 of the Act –
“fact in issue” means and includes—
Any fact which alone or in connection with other facts necessarily gives rise to the existence, non-existence, nature or extent of any right, liability or disability which is asserted or denied in any suit or proceeding.”
In this way, the fact in issue refers to those faccts, whose existence or non-existence, when proved, gives rise to rights or liabilities between the parties and can also be the subject matter of investigation. Accepted facts are considered self-evident.
Example – A is accused of having committed a theft in B‘s house. A denies it. The fact here in issue is whether A has committed a theft in B‘s house.
A fact is said to be a factt in issue only if it satisfies two conditions –
(i) the parties are in disagreement about that fact, or
(ii) the fact is of such importance that the rights and liabilities of the parties thereon depend on
What are the facts in issue in a particular suit, it is determined by the substantive or substantive law or the procedural law.
In civil cases these are determined by the procedure laid down under Order 14 of the Code of Civil Procedure, while in criminal cases the facct in issue is the charge against the accused under Chapter 17 of the Code of Criminal Procedure.
The conclusion is that the facts in issue depend upon the requirements of the law relating to the subject matter of the dispute and the pleadings of the parties. In any case, whatever the issue facts are, they have to be proved by the parties before the court so that a decision can be sought on the basis of them and the court can believe in its existence because the issue faccts are based on the dispute and the decision is given only on these. goes
Difference between relevant fact and issue fact
(i) Relevant facts are called evidence facts, that is, they are the means of proving the facts in issue, while the facts in issue are called prime or principal faccts and they are the cornerstone of the case.
(ii) Relevant facts are not an essential element of a right or liability, whereas facts of issue are an essential element of a right or liability.
(iii) Relevant facts are not the disputed facts themselves, these are the facts on the basis of which the existence or non-existence of disputed facts can be inferred, while the disputed facts are the facts on which there is a dispute and on the basis of which the dispute is settled. The decision of
Difference between evidence and fact
(i) Evidence (witness or document) is the means by which relevant facts are brought before the court, whereas fact is that which exists or is known to man.
(ii) Evidence is of two types (oral and documentary), while facts can be positive or negative.
(iii) Evidence must be in the form of expressed facts, while facts can be of physical or mental type.
(iv) Whatever is the evidence, it is necessary to have fects, but it is not necessary that all the facts must be evidence, unless the court allows them to be presented before it in any legal proceedings.
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Reference :- Indian Evidence Act 17th Edition (Rajaram Yadav)
