Published on: October 26, 2023 at 00:05 IST
Court: Supreme Court of India
Citation: Rajesh Jain V. Ajay Singh (2023)
Honourable Supreme Court of India has held that ‘burden of proof’ as per Indian Evidence Act, 1872 states
- One is the burden of proof arising as a matter of pleading. It is held that the ‘legal burden’ of the pleading never shifts.
- Other Burden of Proof is the one which deals with the question as to who has first to prove a particular fact which is called the “Evidential Burden” and it shifts from one side to the other.
37. Broadly speaking, presumptions are of two kinds, presumptions of fact and of law. Presumptions of fact are inferences logically drawn from one fact as to the existence of other facts. Presumptions of fact are rebuttable by evidence to the contrary. Presumptions of law may be either irrebuttable (conclusive presumptions), so that no evidence to the contrary may be given or rebuttable.
A rebuttable presumption of law is a legal rule to be applied by the Court in the absence of conflicting evidence (Halsbury, 4th Edition paras 111, 112]. Among the class of rebuttable presumptions, a further distinction can be made between discretionary presumptions (‘may presume’) and compulsive or compulsory presumptions (‘shall presume’). [G. Vasu v. Syed Yaseen (Supra)]
38. The Evidence Act provides for presumptions, which fit within one of three forms:‘may presume’ (rebuttable presumptions of fact), ‘shall presume’ (rebuttable presumption of law) and conclusive presumptions (irrebuttable presumption of law).
The distinction between ‘may presume’ and ‘shall presume’ clauses is that, as regards the former, the Court has an option to raise the presumption or not, but in the latter case, the Court must necessarily raise the presumption. If in a case the Court has an option to raise the presumption and raises the presumption, the distinction between the two categories of presumptions ceases and the fact is presumed, unless and until it is disproved, [G. Vasu v. Syed Yaseen (Supra)]
Drafted By Abhijit Mishra