The Indian Evidence Act, 1872 is a legislation that governs the admissibility, relevancy, and weight of evidence in Indian courts. Some of the important sections of the Evidence Act and their significance are as follows:
Section 3: This section defines what evidence means and includes everything that is to be submitted before the court for the purpose of proving or disproving a fact in issue.
Section 5: This section deals with the competency of a witness to give evidence. It specifies that every person is competent to give evidence unless the court considers them to be incompetent on account of their age, mental capacity, or any other factor.
Section 11: This section deals with the relevance of facts in issue. It specifies that facts which are relevant to the issue being tried are admissible in evidence.
Section 24: This section deals with the confession made by an accused person. It specifies that a confession made under certain circumstances is not admissible in evidence.
Section 32: This section deals with the admissibility of statements made by a person who is dead or cannot be found. It specifies that statements made by such a person can be admissible if they were made at a time when the facts stated in the statement were fresh in their memory.
Section 45: This section deals with the opinion of experts. It specifies that the opinion of a person who is an expert in a particular field can be admissible in evidence.
Section 56: This section deals with the doctrine of estoppel. It specifies that a person who has made a representation cannot later deny the truth of that representation if it has been acted upon by another person.
Section 65: This section deals with the admissibility of secondary evidence. It specifies the circumstances under which secondary evidence can be admissible in court.
Section 91: This section deals with the production of documents. It specifies that a court can order the production of a document if it considers it necessary for the purpose of justice.
Section 114: This section deals with the presumption of fact. It specifies that a court can presume the existence of a fact if it is commonly known or if it is proved by evidence.