Rules relating to burden of proof

Two friends argue over a cricket match. One says the ball crossed the boundary, the other says it did not. The umpire does not say, prove it did not. He asks the side that claims the four runs to show them. In court the same instinct works: whoever wants something from the judge has to make the case for it. The Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam turns that instinct into a set of rules, and then bends it in a dozen special situations.

In two minutes

The burden of proof lies on the person who asserts the facts on which he wants judgment (s.104), which in a suit or proceeding means the person who would fail if no evidence were given on either side (s.105); the Act then fixes the burden for particular facts (ss.106 to 114).

The rest of this chapter

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