Course: BBA.LLB
Semester: first
College name: Vivekananda Institute of Professional Studies
DIVISION OF EVIDENCE
“All such
statements which the court allows or needs to be presented before it by the
witnesses in question to matters of fact under enquiry” as termed as evidence
according to the section 3 of the evidence act 1872. The term ‘evidence’ is
derived from the Latin word ‘evidere’ which means ‘to show clearly, or to
ascertain or prove’. Section 3 of the Indian Evidence Act 1872, includes first,
the Oral Evidence refers to all the statements given during the court trial
relating to the matter of fact under inquiry. Although the documentary or the
written evidence means the evidence that has been recorded on paper as well the
electronic evidence. Evidence is considered to the most important to prove
one’s point in court.it is considered to be the bedrock based upon which both
the sides prove their point especially in a criminal case.
The different kinds of evidence are :
direct evidence, circumstantial evidence, analogical
evidence , anecdotal evidence, character evidence, demonstrative evidence,
digital/ electronic evidence, documentary evidence, exculpatory evidence,
forensic evidence, hearsay evidence, physical evidence, prima facie evidence,
statistical evidence, testimonial evidence, judicial evidence, non-judicial
evidence, primary evidence, secondary evidence, real evidence, oral evidence,
scientific / expert/ trace evidence, substantive and corroborative evidence.
Direct evidence
is also straight evidence it’s so strong that after showing that it either
directly validates or invalidates the fact. In such evidence a specific fact is
established without the further need to connect the fact. But completely
relying on the the evidence and not backing it up with any further statements
can be a disadvantage as well. It can lead to suspension under perjury too.
Circumstantial
evidence also known as indirect evidence which proves the facts but also needs
to be backed by other facts and statements. They can be proved by relating to
other facts and evidences. Under the Indian Evidence Act “ circumstantial
evidence “ Is covered under “relevant facts” which need to be proved further by
facts and other evidences like oral or documentary evidence. “Ashok Kumar vs.
the state of Madhya Pradesh wherein the three was eyewitness , the prosecution
wax alleging circumstantial evidence after which it was held that they should
be of definite tendency and should point straight towards the crime/guilt of
the accused. Hence the appeal was successful and the accused and appellants
were accused of the charge.
Analogical
evidence is underused and usually used at the end when no further evidences are
left.
Anecdotal
evidence is based on the personalized observations of a person it is usually
used for building up a topic of matter. They should be supported by statistics otherwise
they won’t be given any credibility. They are usually used to support a claim.
Character
evidence is one of the most crucial and important for used for determining the
guilt of the accused. This type of evidence is being used since eternity. The
character of the person is generally the overview and result of his/her past actions
be it good or Bad. For example if a person has ‘good character’ might be
considered truthful and people might think that he can’t commit any crime
similarly a person with ‘bad character’ might be considered as a conman and
people might suspect him of doing something which might be against the morals
of the society. This type of evidence is is considered as indeterminate and
irrational. Though it can used to prove in the cases involving defamation.
These evidences don’t differentiate between character and habit much as if in a
case of murder the relative of the victim goes to buy milk every day in the
morning then according to this evidence the person would be at the milk booth
buying milk at the time of the murder of his/her relative but this can’t be the
case every time that’s why this evidence is considered as baseless and vague
frequently.
Demonstrative
evidence usually consists of charts and diagrams which are directly shown to
the judge of jury in litigation. They assist in proving certain facts that are
being cited the litigators. This evidence includes charts, timelines, scale
models, photo enlargements, maps, diagrams of a crime scene, animation, film or
video, checklist exhibits, sample product display or anything similar designed
to help the judge or jury better understand the case.
Digital/Electronic
evidence includes the data, record, data generated, image or sound stored, or
any information received or sent through any electronic form. This type of
evidence was added when the definition of evidence was amended by the
Information Technology Act 2000, which added the term ‘electronicrecords’. But
this evidence must be accumulated with reasonable and least objective means and
the date should be relevant enough to support the investigation.
Documentary
evidence is the proof given in the form of any document or written form which
can be used for recording matters. There are certain essentials of documentary
evidence such as how the ‘contents’ are proved, how will the document proved to
be original, and how is it different from the oral evidence.
Exculpatory
evidence is basically used to prove the innocence of the defendant by providing
proofs and evidences to the defence attorney and if the defence attorney falls
short of evidence then the defendant is proven to be innocent. This is considered as exculpatory evidence.
DNA result can also be considered as exculpatory evidence depending on the test
results.
Forensic
evidence helps in getting important investigative leads. These are the type of
evidences which cannot be traced with naked eye and require special instruments
and techniques to be proven. For instance in the case of murder the shoe
impressions, finger prints, can be traced out by tracing the DNA of the person
which is the building block of human beings. This evidence is divided into two
parts ; physical evidence which refers to the non-living or inorganic matter
such as fingerprints, shoe impressions, tire impressions etc. ; second
biological evidence which includes blood, hair, saliva, and also plants, wood,
pollen etc.
Hearsay evidence
is considered to be the most baseless evidence as it is the one which the
witness neither personally seen or heard that’s why it’s considered to be the
very weak , unreasonable, and has no credibility in the eyes of law.
Physical
evidence is the evidence which is found at the crime scene. It is basically
‘the evidence which can be seen by the microscope and not the by the naked eye’
as defined by the American Academy of Forensic Sciences (AAFS) this evidence
can be collected by taking pictures, taking finger impressions and plastering
them. For example to decipher the damaged text or the weapon used to do harm is
covered under physical evidence.
Prima facie
evidence also known as presumptive evidence which at the same time establishes
a fact and is questionable as well. They are dependent on first impression. For
example if a wife sees her husband with another woman the first impression she
might get can be wrong but that cannot be true.
Statistical
evidence is the proof which is accumulated after collecting information related
to the matter under inquiry while also using mathematical graphs to prove one’s
point. For example the number of people visiting a hospital sued for medical
negligence can either disprove or prove the accusation.
Testimonial
evidence which is provided by the person under oath. It can be of two types
either spoken or written. But if the evidence is fallacious, unfair, or not
given by an expert witness it will be deemed inadmissible.
Judicial
evidence is evidence received by the court to either prove or disprove the
facts. It includes the confessions of the accused and witness and also the
documentary evidence provided by the parties.
Non-judicial
evidence is the statement or the confession made by the accused outside the
court. But if they are proved in the court then they will be called as judicial
evidence.
Primary evidence
as defined in the section 62 is the document itself produced in the court and
is considered as the most important evidence.
Secondary
evidence is the evidence that is presented before the court in the absence of
primary evidence. But it can’t be produced without prior notice. For example a
copy of a document is called as secondary evidence.
Real evidence or
also known as material evidence is the evidence which needs to be supported by
an expert witness which can explain the relevancy of the evidence. It includes
objects, photographs, and video recordings, out of court inspection and
person’s behaviour and appearance.
Oral evidence is
the evidence which is spoken by the witnesses. It need not be supported by any
documentary evidence.
Scientific/Expert/Trace
evidence is the evidence collected after a scientific research which requires a
lot of time and patience as well. The judge may consider the validity and the
credibility of the evidence and the impact of the evidence in the case.
Substantive and
corroborative evidence: substantive evidence is the proof on the basis of which
a fact is proved and corroborative evidence is the evidence which is used to
make substantive evidence more factual. The importance of corroborative
evidence depends on the substantive evidence i.e. the existence of
corroborative evidence depends on substantive evidence.
Conclusion
Hence evidence
is the most important part of every case be it civil or criminal. The facts
provided by the evidence helps the judge to come to a conclusion and all these
types of evidences can be used to prove or disprove facts. Consequently they
also help in conducting a free trial.
Point of view on Division of evidence
In the pursuit of a criminal case, evidence is
the foundation upon which both sides build their respective arguments. During
the investigation into a crime, great care must be taken to collect, preserve,
and record evidence that could be critical in establishing the facts
surrounding a criminal case. However, the importance of the evidence doesn’t
end after the trial. As any good criminal defense lawyer knows, the evidence
collected during a criminal case must be preserved for posterity to ensure that
the due process rights of the accused are observed fully.
Preservation of evidence is important because
it can impact the entire course of a criminal case and its influence can extend
well beyond the initial resolution through the appeals process. The government
has a duty to properly collect and preserve evidence in a criminal case to fulfil
the obligations spelled out in the Sixth and Fourteenth Amendments to the
Constitution. A criminal defense
attorney in Anne Arundel County will
go to great lengths to examine the evidence, as well as its collection and
preservation, to make sure that the rights of the defendant are respected. Read
on to learn more about the reasons that evidence preservation is critical in a
criminal case.
Because the state and
authorities in charge of investigating criminal cases will use the evidence
collected during the investigation to establish key facts about the case, it’s
critical that the evidence is collected correctly and in accordance with
recognized standards. If the evidence wasn’t correctly collected and preserved,
then its credibility is significantly damaged, and it may even be rendered
inadmissible. A good defense attorney will question not only the credibility of
the evidence, but the integrity of its collection and preservation. Failure to
preserve evidence properly can lead to a mistrial or abandonment of charge
against the accused since evidence is the basis of a prosecution case.
The evidence is equally as
important to the defendant’s case in a criminal trial. First, a defense attorney
can examine evidence assembled against the defendant and assault its
credibility if it wasn’t properly collected and preserved. Also, because the
defendant may have evidence to submit of an exculpatory nature that can be used
to establish an alibi, it’s important that such evidence is preserved to
protect its integrity as well.
Even if a criminal case has
reached its initial resolution, the defendant has the right to an appeals process that could stretch on for a
considerable time. Therefore, any evidence that could reasonably be important
to the appeals process must also be preserved to ensure that it’s available for
use in future legal proceedings to reach a just final disposition. Preservation
of evidence is a key component in the due process rights of the accused and is,
therefore, an integral component in the pursuit of justice in the legal system.
There have been many cases in which evidence that initially
proved damning to a defendant was later used to provide exoneration years
later. For example, DNA evidence that couldn’t be tested in the past may be
used to prove the innocence of a defendant years later. However, if that
evidence isn’t properly preserved, it won’t be available and could result in an
innocent person remaining incarcerated for crimes he or she didn’t commit.
