Character when relevant

A colleague at your office is accused of taking cash from the till. Everyone says, he is an honest man, he has never done anything like this. Another colleague says, well, I heard he was once in trouble at his last job. Both remarks are about character, and both feel natural. But would a court be right to decide on the basis of either? The Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023 answers in sections 46 to 50 with a cautious policy: character is mostly kept out, with a few clearly defined doors.

In two minutes

Under sections 46 to 50 of the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023, character is irrelevant in civil cases to prove conduct (s.46), relevant in criminal cases when it is good (s.47), barred in sexual offence cases on the question of consent (s.48), bad character is irrelevant unless good character has been put in evidence (s.49), and character may matter in civil cases for damages (s.50).

The rest of this chapter

The full explanation, the cheat sheet, every previous-year question at every mark weight, the quiz and the answer skeletons are part of Law of Evidence on LexBlox Semester. Sign in to unlock the subject, or read Module 1 of Legal Language and Writing free.