Evidence Act 1893 · 2020 Revised Edition · Part 3 · Production and Effect of Evidence
167. Judge’s power to put questions or order production
Feedback & supportLast amended by an amending law of 2021.
The Judge may, in order to discover or to obtain proper proof of relevant facts, ask any question he or she pleases, in any form at any time, of any witness or of the parties, about any fact relevant or irrelevant; and may order the production of any document or thing; and neither the parties nor their agents are entitled to make any objection to any such question or order, nor, without the permission of the court, to cross‑examine any witness upon any answer given in reply to any such question.
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.
The judgment must be based upon facts declared by this Act to be relevant and duly proved.
This section does not authorise any Judge to compel any witness to answer any question or to produce any document which such witness would be entitled to refuse to answer or produce under sections 123 to 133 if the question were asked or the document were called for by the adverse party.
document
“document” includes, in addition to a document in writing —(a)any map, plan, graph or drawing;(b)any photograph;(c)any label, marking or other writing which identifies or describes anything of which it forms a part, or to which it is attached by any means whatsoever;(d)any disc, tape, soundtrack or other device in which sounds or other data (not being visual images) are embodied so as to be capable (with or without the aid of some other equipment) of being reproduced therefrom;(e)any film (including microfilm), negative, tape, disc or other device in which one or more visual images are embodied so as to be capable (with or without the aid of some other equipment) of being reproduced therefrom; and(f)any paper or other material on which there are marks, impressions, figures, letters, symbols or perforations having a meaning for persons qualified to interpret them;
The Judge must not —
ask any question which it would be improper for any other person to ask under section 150 or 151; or (b)dispense with the primary evidence of any document, except in the cases excepted in this Act.