Secondary Evidence Relating to Documents
Section 61 of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872 deals
with proof of contents of documents. It provides that the contents of documents may be
proved either by primary
evidence or secondary evidence. Secondary evidence also known as
"inferior of substituted evidence". Section 63 of Indian
Evidence Act defines Secondary Evidence.
Secondary Evidence
According to Section 63 of Indian Evidence Act, Secondary evidence means and includes :
1. Certified copies given under the
provisions hereinafter contained;
2. Copies made from the
original by mechanical processes which in themselves insure the accuracy of the
copy and copies compared with such copies;
3. Copies made from or
compared with the original;
4. Counterparts of documents as against the parties who did not execute
them;
5. Oral accounts of the
contents of a document given by some person who has himself seen it.
Examples
(a) A photograph of an original is
secondary evidence of its contents, though the two have not been compared, if
it is proved that the thing photographed was the original.
(b) A copy compared with a copy of a letter made
by copying machine is secondary evidence of the contents of the letter, if it
is shown that the copy made by the copying machine was made from the original.
(c) A copy transcribed from a copy, but
afterwards compared with the original, is secondary evidence, but the copy not
so compared is not secondary evidence of the original, although the copy from
which it was transcribed was compared with the original.
(d) Neither an oral account of a copy compared with
the original, nor an oral account of a photo graph or machine copy of the
original, is secondary evidence of the original.
According to Section 65.of the Indian Evidence Act,
1872 Secondary evidence may be given of the existence,
condition or contents of a document in the following cases:
a) When the original is shown or appears to be in the possession or power of the
person against whom the document is sought to be proved, or of any person out
of reach of, or not subject to, the process of the Court, or of any person
legally bound to produce it, and when, after the notice mentioned in Section
66, such person does not produce it
b) When the existence, condition or contents of the original have been proved
to be admitted in writing by the person against whom it is proved or by his
representative in interest
c) When the original has been destroyed or lost, or when the party offering
evidence of its contents cannot, for any other reason not arising from his own
default or neglect, produce it in reasonable time
d) When the original is of such a nature as not to be easily movable
e) When the original is a public
document within the meaning of Section 74
f) When the original is a document of which a certified copy is permitted by
Evidence Act, or by any other law in force in India to be given in evidence
g) When the originals consist of numerous accounts or other documents which
cannot conveniently be examined in Court, and the fact to be proved is the
general result of the whole collections.
In cases (a), (c) and (d), any secondary evidence of the contents of the documents is admissible.
In case (b),
the written admission is admissible. In case (e) or (f), a certified copy of
the document, but no other kind of secondary evidence, is admissible. In case
(g), evidence may be given as to the general result of the documents by any
person who has examined them, and who is skilled in the examination of such documents.
No comments