Of Relevancy of Facts:

Part 1
(Section 5-17)
Unit 1-Lecture 4
Ms. Jyoti Singh
Assistant Professor,
St. Joseph’s College of Law.
 Evidence may be given in any suit or proceeding of the existence
or non-existence of every fact in issue and of such other facts as
Section are hereinafter declared to be relevant, and of no others.

Explanation.-- This section shall not enable any person to give

5. Evidence evidence of a fact which he is disentitled to prove by any
provision of the law for the time being in force relating to Civil
may be given Procedure.
Simplified Meaning: Evidence may be given in a civil suit or a
of facts in criminal proceeding regarding the existence or non-existence of
facts in issues and other facts which are relevant to the case.
issue and
relevant facts

Ms. Jyoti Singh, Assistant Professor of Law, SJCL.

Illustrations
A is tried for the murder of B by beating him
with a club with the intention of causing his
death.

At A's trial the following facts are in issue:-

A's beating B with the club;

A's causing Bs death by such beating;

A's intention to cause Bs death.

Ms. Jyoti Singh, Assistant Professor of Law, SJCL.

Case Laws:
• In Emperor v. Allahabad Khan, the SP and a sub-inspector searched the house of a
person suspected of being in illegal possession of excisable articles and such articles
were found when the house was searched. It was held that the conviction of the owner
of the house under section 63 of the United Provinces Excise Act, 1910 could not be
rendered invalid by the fact that no search warrant had been issued under the Act.
• In the landmark case of Pooran Mal v. Director of Inspection of Income Tax , the Indian
Supreme Court held that no Constitutional or Statutory construction prescribes to
exclude the illegally obtained evidence thereby the only test of admissibility of evidence
is the relevancy of the evidence. This case also decreed the ‘Unfair Operation Rule’ of
England wherein the Courts have the discretion to exclude the illegally obtained
evidence if it leads to unfair treatment to the accused.

Ms. Jyoti Singh, Assistant Professor of Law, SJCL.

 • Facts which, though not in issue, are so
connected with a fact in issue as to
form part of the same transaction, are
Section 6. relevant, whether they occurred at the
same time and place or at different
Relevancy of times and places.
facts forming • Simplified Meaning: Evidence may
be given of facts (which are not fact in
part of same issue) if
1. they form a part of the same
transaction transaction
2. they are relevant to the case
Irrespective of whether it took place at
the same time and place or at different
times and different places.
Ms. Jyoti Singh, Assistant Professor of Law, SJCL.
Illustrations
(a) A is accused of the murder of B by beating him. Whatever was said or done by A or B
or the by-standers at the beating, or so shortly before or after it as to form part of the
transaction, is a relevant fact.
(b) A is accused of waging war against the Government of India by taking part in an armed
insurrection in which property is destroyed, troops are attacked, and goals are broken
open. The occurrence of these facts is relevant, as forming part of the general
transaction, though A may not have been present at all of them.

Ms. Jyoti Singh, Assistant Professor of Law, SJCL.

 Definition of
Transaction

A transaction, as the term used in this

section, is defined as a crime, contract,
error, or any other subject of inquiry that
may be in question by a single name. It
includes both the immediate cause and
effect of an act or event and the other
necessary antecedents of its occurrence at a
reasonable distance of time, pace and cause
and effect.

Ms. Jyoti Singh, Assistant Professor of Law, SJCL.

 Unity or proximity of place,

Working
test for Proximity of time,

deciding a Continuity of actions, and

Transaction
Community of purpose.

Ms. Jyoti Singh, Assistant Professor of Law, SJCL.

Doctrine of Res Gestae
• Res gestae is an English doctrine and the Latin phrase means “things done”
• It is said that when a lawyer finds no way of getting a fact admitted in a Court of law, he
can always plead that it is relevant as res gestae.
• The Evidence Act, 1872 does not employ the phrase res gestae anywhere, the spirit
behind the doctrine of enlarging the focus of spotlight of relevancy to cover certain
surrounding facts has been incorporated not only in section 6 but also in sections 7 to
10.
• Res Gestae means surrounding or accompanying circumstances which are inseparable
from the facts in issue and are necessary to explain the nature of the main act. They
include acts or declarations accompanying or explaining the transaction or fact in issue.

Ms. Jyoti Singh, Assistant Professor of Law, SJCL.

Ms. Jyoti Singh, Assistant Professor of Law, SJCL.
Section 7:
Facts which
are the Facts which are the occasion, cause or effect,
immediate or otherwise, of relevant facts, or facts in
occasion, issue, or which constitute the state of things under
which they happened, or which afforded an
opportunity for their occurrence or transaction,
cause or are relevant.

effect of
facts in issue
Ms. Jyoti Singh, Assistant Professor of Law, SJCL.
Illustration:

Ms. Jyoti Singh, Assistant Professor of Law, SJCL.

 • Refer to section from Bare Act
•“Motive”, by definition, “is the moving power
which impels action for a definite result.
Section 8. •“Preparation” consists in devising or
arranging the means or measures necessary for
Motive, the commission of the offence. Preparation per
se is not punishable under the IPC, 1860
Preparation barring certain exceptions.
and Previous •“Conduct” means “an act, an omission to
perform an act or a state of affairs”
or subsequent Ø Previous Conduct—(Ex: “Last Seen
conduct. Together” Doctrine)
Ø Subsequent Conduct—(Ex: “Absconding”
by Accused)

Ms. Jyoti Singh, Assistant Professor of Law, SJCL.

Case Laws:
• Gangaram v. Emp: A fact showing or constituting motive is relevant. Motive is that
which moves or includes a person to act in a certain way.
• Deshraj v. State of U.P: Statement of a witness that the accused had confessed his guilt
at a public place where other persons were also standing is not reliable and not admissible
under section 8.
• Gurmej Singh Vs State of Punjab: The deceased had successfully contested election
against the accused. Few months before the incident, they had a quarrel with one another.
The reason behind that the accused diverted dirty water towards the house of the
deceased and the deceased frustrated his efforts. It was also on evidence that proceedings
under Cr.P.C were pending between them, and the dirty water issue added a new level to
it. The Court concluded that incident over the passage of dirty water could be the motive
for the murder and the same is not very weak as not to encourage the accused to kill the
rival.
Ms. Jyoti Singh, Assistant Professor of Law, SJCL.
Section 9.
Facts Facts necessary to explain or introduce a fact in issue

necessary or relevant fact, or which support or rebut an

inference suggested by a fact in issue or relevant fact,
or which establish the identity of anything or person
to explain whose identity is relevant or fix the time or place at
which any fact in issue or relevant fact happened, or
or introduce which show the relation of parties by whom any such
fact was transacted, are relevant in so far as they are
necessary for that purpose.
relevant
facts.
Ms. Jyoti Singh, Assistant Professor of Law, SJCL.
 • The facts must necessarily explain the facts in
the issue or relevant facts; or
• The facts must necessarily introduce the facts in
the issue or relevant facts; or
• The facts must necessarily support an inference
Essential or rebut the fact in issue or relevant fact; or
Conditions of • The facts must prove the identity of anything or
anybody whose identity is important or
Section 9: significant; or
• The facts must necessarily specify the time or
place of the facts in issue; or
• The facts must always show the relation of
persons involved in the transaction.
Ms. Jyoti Singh, Assistant Professor of Law, SJCL.
Case Laws:

• R v. Tolson (1864): This case is about photograph identification. In order to confirm the first husband’s
identification with the person who attended his marriage as a witness on the marriage certificate. The
photograph was acceptable as evidence to identify the image’s visual representation of the accused
person. The witnesses talk from their recollections of the event through photos. This is just an
identification of an accused based on images recognized by witnesses. As a result, the Court decided
that pictures, drawings and photofits of crime scenes may be accepted.
• Rajnath Singh, Mahatim Singh, Ram Manam, Munnu Alias Monu v. State of Uttar Pradesh
(1978): This case involves dacoity in relation to a Test Identification of Parade. At night, four
dacoits break into Sheo Shanker Tiwari’s residence in Sakkapur village. They barged into the house
carrying weapons such as a gun, a knife and lathis. They also carried torches. These dacoits tied the
family to their beds while they were asleep. They were being threatened with weapons by the dacoits.
They took items and escaped from home. They discovered one of the dacoits names and filed a
complaint against him. The names of the others were unknown, but the family recognized them. They
were identified by the parade test. The eyewitness tracked down the others, who were arrested and
punished.

Ms. Jyoti Singh, Assistant Professor of Law, SJCL.

Section 10. Things said or done by conspirator
in reference to common design.

Where there is reasonable ground to believe that two or more persons

have conspired together to commit an offence or an actionable
wrong, anything said, done or written by any one of such persons in
reference to their common intention, after the time when such intention
was first entertained by any one of them, is a relevant fact as against
each of the persons believed to be so conspiring, as well for the purpose
of proving the existence of the conspiracy as for the purpose of showing
that any such person was a party to it.

Ms. Jyoti Singh, Assistant Professor of Law, SJCL.

Principle enshrined under Section 10.
• Deals with the admissibility of things said and done by a conspirator in reference
to common design.
• In a civil case, the principal is bound by the acts of his agent.
• In a criminal case, a person cannot be ordinarily be held liable for the acts of
another unless they have been being working to achieve a common object, with
common intention and with a common design.
• Simplified Meaning: In prosecutions for conspiracy when concert and
connections are reasonably believed to exist, whatever is said, said done or
written by each conspirator, with respect to their common intention is a relevant
fact and is admissible as evidence against one another.

Ms. Jyoti Singh, Assistant Professor of Law, SJCL.

 Queen v. Blake

Ms. Jyoti Singh, Assistant Professor of Law, SJCL.

Section 11: When facts not otherwise
relevant become relevant.

(1) if they are inconsistent with any fact in issue or

relevant fact;

(2) if by themselves or in connection with

other facts they make the existence or non-
existence of any fact in issue or relevant
fact highly probable or improbable.

Ms. Jyoti Singh, Assistant Professor of Law, SJCL.

Illustration:

• The question is, whether A committed a crime.

• The circumstances are such that the crime must have been
committed either by A, B, C or D.
• Every fact which shows that the crime could have been
committed by no one else, and that it was not committed by
either B, C or D, is relevant.

Ms. Jyoti Singh, Assistant Professor of Law, SJCL.

Scope of Section 11:
• This section has been expressed in very wide terms, but it does not mean that any
and every fact which has a bearing however remote, on any fact in issue or
relevant fact, is relevant.
• If it were so that would amount to wiping out the theory of relevancy and would
create confusion in the court to the prejudice of the parties.
• Before a fact is proven to be relevant under section 11, it must be proven to be
admissible.

Ms. Jyoti Singh, Assistant Professor of Law, SJCL.

Case Laws:

• Jawala Singh v. Prem Singh: In order that a collateral fact may be admissible as
relevant under section 11, two requirements are necessary:
1. that the collateral fact must itself be established by reasonably conclusive evidence.
2. That it must, when established, afford a reasonable presumption or inference as to the
matter in dispute.

• Khavar Sultan v. Rukha Sultan: Section 11(20 of the IEA makes facts which may
otherwise not be relevant to the controversy whereby themselves or in connection
with other facts such facts make the existence or non-existence of any fact in issue
probable or improbable.

Ms. Jyoti Singh, Assistant Professor of Law, SJCL.

 Section 12. In suits for In suits in which damages are claimed, any fact
damages, facts tending to
enable Court to determine
which will enable the Court to determine the amount
amount are relevant. of damages which ought to be awarded is relevant.

Ms. Jyoti Singh, Assistant Professor of Law, SJCL.

 Where the question is as to the existence of
any right or custom, the following facts are
relevant: ––
Section 13.
Facts (a) any transaction by which the right or
relevant custom in question was created, claimed,
modified, recognized, asserted or denied,
when right or which was inconsistent with its
or custom is existence;
in question. (b) particular instances in which the right or
custom was claimed, recognized or
exercised, or in which its exercise was
disputed, asserted or departed from.

Ms. Jyoti Singh, Assistant Professor of Law, SJCL.

Illustration

The question is, whether A has a right to a fishery.

A deed conferring the fishery on A’s ancestors, a mortgage of the fishery by A’s
father, a subsequent grant of the fishery by A’s father, irreconcilable with the
mortgage, particular instances in which A’s father exercised the right, or in which
the exercise of the right was stopped by A’s neighbors, are relevant facts.

Ms. Jyoti Singh, Assistant Professor of Law, SJCL.

Section 14. Facts showing existence of state of mind, or of
body of bodily feeling.
Facts showing the existence of any state of mind such as intention, knowledge,
good faith, negligence, rashness, ill-will or good-will towards any particular
person or showing the existence of any state of body or bodily feeling are
relevant, when the existence of any such state of mind or body or bodily feeling,
is in issue or relevant.
Explanation 1. –– A fact relevant as showing the existence of a relevant state of
mind must show that the state of mind exists, not generally, but in reference to the
particular matter in question
Explanation 2. –– But where, upon the trial of a person accused of an offence,
the previous commission by the accused of an offence is relevant within the
meaning of this section, the previous conviction of such person shall also be a
relevant fact.

Ms. Jyoti Singh, Assistant Professor of Law, SJCL.

Illustrations

(a) A is accused of receiving stolen goods knowing them to be stolen. It is proved

that he was in possession of a particular stolen article. The fact that, at the same
time, he was in possession of many other stolen articles is relevant, as tending to
show that he knew each and all of the articles of which he was in possession to be
stolen.
(l) The question is whether A’s death was caused by poison.
Statements made by A during his illness as to his symptoms are relevant facts.
(m) The question is, what was the state of A’s health at the time when an assurance
on his life was effected.
Statements made by A as to the state of his health at or near the time in question are
Ms. Jyoti Singh, Assistant Professor of Law, SJCL.
relevant facts.
Section 15.
Facts bearing When there is a question whether an act was
on question accidental or intentional, or done with a
particular knowledge or intention, the fact
whether act that such act formed part of a series of similar
was occurrences, in each of which the person doing
the act was concerned, is relevant.
accidental or
intentional.

Ms. Jyoti Singh, Assistant Professor of Law, SJCL.

Illustration:

(a) A is accused of burning down his house in order to obtain money for which it is insured.
The facts that A lived in several houses successively each of which he insured, in each of which a
fire occurred, and after each of which fires A received payment from a different insurance office, are
relevant, as tending to show that the fires were not accidental.

(b) A is employed to receive money from the debtors of B. It is A’s duty to make entries in a book
showing the amounts received by him. He makes an entry showing that on a particular occasion he
received less than he really did receive. The question is, whether this false entry was accidental or
intentional. The facts that other entries made by A in the same book are false, and that the false entry
is in each case in favour of A, are relevant.

Ms. Jyoti Singh, Assistant Professor of Law, SJCL.

 Section 16.
Existence of When there is a question whether a
particular act was done, the
course of existence of any course of
business, according to which it
business naturally would have been done, is a
relevant fact.
when
relevant.

Ms. Jyoti Singh, Assistant Professor of Law, SJCL.

 (a) The question is, whether a particular
letter was dispatched. The facts that it was
the ordinary course of business for all
letters put in a certain place to be carried
to the post, and that that particular letter
was put in that place are relevant.
Illustration
(b) The question is, whether a particular
letter reached A. The facts that it was
posted in due course, and was not returned
through the Dead Letter Office, are
relevant.

Ms. Jyoti Singh, Assistant Professor of Law, SJCL.

Note: FiI: Facts in Issue, RF : Relevant Fact, S. 15: Intentional and not incidental