Evidence Act 1893 · 2020 Revised Edition · Part 1 · Relevancy of Facts
4. Presumptions
Feedback & supportWhenever it is provided by this Act that the court may presume a fact, it may either regard such fact as proved unless and until it is disproved, or may call for proof of it.
court
“court” includes all Judges and Magistrates and, except arbitrators, all persons legally authorised to take evidence;
Whenever it is directed by this Act that the court is to presume a fact, the court is to regard such fact as proved unless and until it is disproved.
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.
When one fact is declared by this Act to be conclusive proof of another, the court is, on proof of the one fact, to regard the other as proved, and is not to allow evidence to be given for the purpose of disproving it.
evidence
“evidence” includes —(a)all statements which the court permits or requires to be made before it by witnesses in relation to matters of fact under inquiry: such statements are called oral evidence; and(b)all documents produced for the inspection of the court: such documents are called documentary evidence;