Skip to content
Evidence (BSA) · Unit 2

Proof and Burden of Proof

Unit 2 of Law of Evidence (Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam 2023) (syllabus: Module II — facts which need not be proved; oral and documentary evidence; proof of electronic records; public and private documents; presumptions; exclusion of oral by documentary evidence; burden of proof; estoppel (BSA ss. 51–123; IEA ss. 56–117)). Below: what the unit covers, the provisions it turns on, and the cases an examiner expects you to name.

What this unit covers

  • Which facts escape proof altogether?
  • What is the rule against hearsay in this statute, and where does it give way?
  • When may secondary evidence of a document be given, and of what kind?
  • How does the Adhiniyam solve the problem that a digital record has no original?
  • What must be established before a computer output is admitted?
  • Which documents are public, and how are they proved?
  • How far may a written instrument be contradicted by oral evidence?
  • Where does the Adhiniyam place the burden of proof, and on what standard?
  • What is the difference between may presume, shall presume and conclusive proof?
  • What are the elements of estoppel, and what does an estoppel actually do?

Treat that list as a self-test: recite each topic's rule from memory before you open its cases.

Provisions

Leading cases

  • No judgment is cited on this course; the nearest authority is the statute itself

Exam questions on this unit

In this paper