History of the Law of Evidence in India

Question:- Give a brief history of the Law of Evidence in India.

Answer:-

History of Law of Evidence

State of law before the Evidence Act. -  Before the introduction of the Indian Evidence Act there was no complete or systematic enactment on the subject. Within the presidency towns of Calcutta, Bombay, and Madras, the Courts followed the English rules of evidence. Outside the presidency towns, there were no fixed rules of evidence. The law was vague and indefinite. The Mofussil Courts used to be guided by occasional directions and a few rules regarding evidence and procedure contained in the old Regulation made between 1793-1834. Some vague customary laws also prevailed in some parts of the country.

The first attempt.- The first attempt towards reforms was Act X of 1835 which was applicable to all Courts in British India. Between 1835 and 1853, a series of Acts were passed by the Indian Legislature introducing some reforms for the improvement of the Law of Evidence.

Act 2 of 1855. – In 1855, Act II was passed for further improvement of the Law of Evidence. Of all the Acts passed on the subject, this Act was more important and contained valuable provisions. But it was not in vogue in Mofussil Courts.

Drafts Bill and the Evidence Act. – Such being the unsatisfactory state of the Law, Mr. Maine (afterward Sir Henry Summer Maine) prepared a Draft Bill of the Law of Evidence in 1868, but was abandoned as unsuitable to the wants of the country. Two years later, Mr. Stephen (afterward Sir James) prepared a new Bill which was finally passed into law in 1872 as Act 1 of 1871, i.e. the present Indian Evidence Act.

Basis of the Act: English Law. – The present Act is based entirely on the English Law of Evidence and the industry and care with which the great mass of principles and rules of English law have been codified, and that too within a very narrow compass must excite the admiration and wonder of all. But as the subject is a vast one and as everything has been compressed within the four corners of the code which comprise only 167 sections, the charges have often been made regarding its abstruse and intricate character as also of its incompleteness.  The sections are, therefore, crabbed and not easy of comprehension.

Unique piece of Legislation.- “It may be remarked at the very outset” observes Chief Justice Mr. Monir in his book on the Evidence  Act, about the present Act “ that the Indian Evidence Act, which was drafted by Sir James Fitzjames Stephen, the distinguished jurist and legislature is a unique piece of legislation the like of which is not to be found anywhere else in the world. In the symmetry of its structures, in the clearness and fullness of its outlines in the terseness of its expressions, and in the compactness of its subject matter, the work stands out unrivaled and unparalleled.”

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