Evidence Act 1893 · 2020 Revised Edition · Part 3 · Production and Effect of Evidence
103. Burden of proof
Feedback & supportWhoever desires any court to give judgment as to any legal right or liability, dependent on the existence of facts which the person asserts, must prove that those facts exist.
court
“court” includes all Judges and Magistrates and, except arbitrators, all persons legally authorised to take evidence;
When a person is bound to prove the existence of any fact, it is said that the burden of proof lies on that person.Illustrations (a) A desires a court to give judgment that B shall be punished for a crime which A says B has committed. A must prove that B has committed the crime. (b) A desires a court to give judgment that A is entitled to certain land in the possession of B by reason of facts which A asserts and which B denies to be true. A must prove the existence of those facts.
fact
“fact” includes —(a)any thing, state of things, or relation of things, capable of being received by the senses; and(b)any mental condition of which any person is conscious;Illustrations(a) That there are certain objects arranged in a certain order in a certain place is a fact.(b) That a man heard or saw something is a fact.(c) That a man said certain words is a fact.(d) That a man holds a certain opinion, has a certain intention, acts in good faith or fraudulently, or uses a particular word in a particular sense, or is or was at a specified time conscious of a particular sensation, is a fact.(e) That a man has a certain reputation is a fact.