Admission Sec.17 to 23 Indian Evidence Act

This PPT is on the admission of Indian evidence act i.e Section 17 to 23

1. EVIDENCE ACT Assingnment on- ADMISSION

2. ADMISSION BY PERSON’S WHOSE POSITION MUST BE PROVED AS AGAINST PARTY TO SUIT S.19 ADMISSION BY PERSON’S EXPRESSLY REFERRED TO BY PARTY TO SUIT S.20 ADMISSION DEFINED S.17 ADMISSION BY PARTY TO PROCEEDING HIS AGENT S.18

3. ADMISSION IN CIVIL CASES WHEN RELEVANT S.23 PROOF OF ADMISSIONS AGAINST PERSONS MAKING THEM, AND BY OR ON THEIR BEHALF S.21 WHEN ORAL ADMISSIONS AS TO CONTENTS OF DOCUMENTS ARE RELEVANT S.22

4. “An admission is a statement, 1[oral or documentary or contained in electronic form], which suggests any inference as to any fact in issue or relevant fact, and which is made by any of the persons, and under the circumstances, hereinafter mentioned.” —ADMISSION DEFINED SECTION - 17

5. ADMISSION DEFINED - Admission plays a very important part in judicial proceedings. If one party to a suit or any other proceeding proves that the other party has admitted his case, the work of the court becomes easier. A files a suit against B alleging that B is not the last male owner's daughter's son and that he (A) is, the last male holder’s Sapinda . B files a document in which A admitted B to be the daughter's son of the last male holder. This document is not only admissible in evidence but is a very strong and important piece of evidence. Admission has been dealt with in Sections 17 to 31. In which Sections 24 to 30 are devoted to confession. It is to be noted that the confession is admission of guilt by the accused in criminal case.

6. ADMISSION DEFINED - Admission of Law.- In India, admission of fact is a proof against the party making the admission but admission on a pure question of law is not binding on the maker. An admission on a point of law is not an admission of a "thing" so as to make the matter of estoppel. Counsel's admission on question of mixed law and fact are not binding. The lawyer of the plaintiff made an admission to the effect that the parties were governed by custom under which a mother could have alienated the property of her minor sons for their benefit. This was held not binding because it was a pure question of law or at least a mixed question of law and fact. The admission of law by a counsel are not binding on a court and the court is not precluded from deciding the rights of the parties on a true view of the law. Under the English Law admission of law is relevant.

7. Statements made by a party to the proceeding, or by an agent to any such party, whom the Court regards, under the circumstances of the case, as expressly or impliedly authorized by him to make them, are admissions. by suitor in representative character.—Statements made by parties to suits, suing or sued in a representative character, are not admissions, unless they were made while the party making them held that character. Statements made by— (1)   party interested in subject-matter .—persons who have any proprietary or pecuniary interest in the subject-matter of the proceeding, and who make the statement in their character of persons so interested, or (2)   person from whom interest derived .—persons from whom the parties to the suit have derived their interest in the subject-matter of the suit, are admissions, if they are made during the continuance of the interest of the persons making the statements. — ADMISSION BY PARTY TO PROCEEDING OR HIS AGENT. SECTION - 18

8. — ADMISSION BY PARTY TO PROCEEDING OR HIS AGENT. Section 18 lays down the rules for parties to the suit PARTIES TO THE SUIT: All statements made by parties to the suit that makes an inference as to a relevant fact or fact in issue is relevant. In case of defendants, a defendant’s admission does not bind his co-defendants as, then, the plaintiff would defeat the case of all defendants through the mouth of one. In case of the plaintiff, since they all share some common interest, the admission of one plaintiff is bound on co-plaintiffs ( Kashmira Singh v State of MP AIR 1952 SC 159).

9. — ADMISSION BY PARTY TO PROCEEDING OR HIS AGENT. AGENTS OF PARTIES : As the law of agency dictates, anything done by an agent, in the normal course of business, is deemed to have been done by the principal himself (qui facit per alium , facit per se). Hence, if an agent is impliedly or expressly been asked to make an adverse statement, the same shall be relevant. A lawyer does not come under this section. STATEMENTS IN REPRESENTATIVE CHARACTER : A person who sues or is sued in a representative character. These refer to people such as trustees, administrators, executors, etc. Nothing said in their personal capacity is taken as admission but if said in the representative capacity, it counts as an admission.

10. — ADMISSION BY PARTY TO PROCEEDING OR HIS AGENT. PERSONS FROM WHOM THE PARTIES DERIVE INTRESTS- A former owner of a land is so identified in interest with a subsequent owner, holding under the same title, that is (the former owner's admission) respecting the title, made while in possession and vested with title, are receivable in evidence. This evidence is based on the theory that the self-interest involved in the ownership of title is a sufficient guarantee for the truthfulness of the statement against an interest made by the owner.

11. “Statements made by persons whose position or liability, it is necessary to prove as against any party to the suit, are admissions, if such statements would be relevant as against such persons in relation to such position or liability in a suit brought by or against them, and if they are made whilst the person making them occupies such position or is subject to such liability.” -ADMISSIONS BY PERSONS WHOSE POSITION MUST BE PROVED AS AGAINST PARTY TO SUIT. SECTION - 19

12. -ADMISSIONS BY PERSONS WHOSE POSITION MUST BE PROVED AS AGAINST PARTY TO SUIT. When two parties are litigating, statement of any of them made prior to the litigation may be proved at the trial if it amounts to admission. Ordinarily statements by strangers to a suit or proceeding are not relevant as against the parties. A files a suit against B for possession of a house alleging that it belongs to him. B contends that the house belongs to him. A can lead evidence to the effect that B admitted his title to the house in dispute out of court. Similarly B can prove A's admission. If any one of them tries to prove that one C, who is not a party to the proceeding, admitted his title to the house in dispute, he will be stopped from doing so. But in some cases admissions of strangers to a proceeding are relevant.

13. When in a suit a party to it in order to achieve success in the litigation, has to prove the position of liability of a stranger to the proceeding, the statement of such stranger would be relevant against a party to the proceeding as admission, if the statement is of such a nature that if a suit is brought against him in relation to that position or liability against or by that person who made the statement it would be relevant provided when the statement was made, the person making the statement occupies such position or subject to such liability about which the statement was made. Under Section 19 the party to a suit can use the statement of even a third party, if the statement of that third person contained an admission against the interest of that third person, and could have been used against the third person if he sued or was sued in connection with a matter involving the position or liability affected by that admission. -ADMISSIONS BY PERSONS WHOSE POSITION MUST BE PROVED AS AGAINST PARTY TO SUIT.

14. “Statements made by persons to whom a party to the suit has expressly referred for information in reference to a matter in dispute are admissions.” -ADMISSIONS BY PERSONS EXPRESSLY REFERRED TO BY PARTY TO SUIT SECTION - 20

15. -Admissions by persons expressly referred to by party to suit Section 20 deals with another class of admission of persons other than the parties when a party refers to a third person for some information or an opinion on a matter in dispute, the statement made by third person are receivable as admission against the person referring. The reason is that when a party refers to another person for statement of his view, he approves of his statement in anticipation and adopts as his own. "If a man refers another upon any particular business to a third person, he is bound by what the third person says or does concerning it as much as that it had been said or done by himself."

16. -Admissions by persons expressly referred to by party to suit Section 20 is the second exception to the general rule laid down in Section 18. It deals with one class of vicarious admissions that demand of persons other than the parties. Where a party refers to a third person for some information or an opinion on a matter in dispute, the statements made by the third person are receivable as admission against the person referring.

17. ADMISSION IS A SUBSTANTIVE EVIDENCE

18. WHAT DEFINES ADMISSION ? SECTION- 17 SECTION- 18 SECTION 19 SECTION 20 Sections 17,18,19 and 20 taken together define admission- Section 17 lays down that statements, oral or documentary, which suggest any inference to any fact in issue or relevant fact made by admissions. The definition of the term 'admission' as used in the Indian Evidence Act will be clear by reading all these four sections together.

19. Admissions are relevant and may be proved as against the person who makes them, or his representative in interest; but they cannot be proved by or on behalf of the person who makes them or by his representative in interest, except in the following cases:— (1)  An admission may be proved by or on behalf of the person making it, when it is of such a nature that, if the person making it were dead, it would be relevant as between third persons under section 32. (2)  An admission may be proved by or on behalf of the person making it, when it consists of a statement of the existence of any state of mind or body, relevant or in issue, made at or about the time when such state of mind or body existed, and is accompanied by conduct rendering its falsehood improbable. (3)  An admission may be proved by or on behalf of the person making it, if it is relevant otherwise than as an admission. -PROOF OF ADMISSIONS AGAINST PERSONS MAKING THEM, AND BY OR ON THEIR BEHALF SECTION - 21

20. -PROOF OF ADMISSIONS AGAINST PERSONS MAKING THEM, AND BY OR ON THEIR BEHALF This section is regarding the proof of admissions. It states that, since an admission is an evidence against the party who has made it; it cannot be proved by the party but has to be proved against the party. It is better explained by Crompton J in R v Petcherini (1855 7 Cox CC 70): If a man makes a declaration accompanying an act it is evidence, but declarations made two or three days, or a week, previous to the transaction in question cannot be evidence, otherwise it would be easy for a man to lay grounds for escaping the consequences of this wrongful acts by making such declarations.

21. -PROOF OF ADMISSIONS AGAINST PERSONS MAKING THEM, AND BY OR ON THEIR BEHALF It can, though, be proved in favour of the party, if, the party who made the statement, originally, died. This comes under Section-32 of the Indian Evidence Act and the statement is proved by the representatives of the original party. When the statement relates to a bodily feeling or state of mind, the person making the admission can prove it, too. The state of mind in question should be proved with an appropriate conduct, since, a person in pain would act differently than a person faking it. Certain other relevant statements can also be proved by the party making it, such as, when the statement is itself a fact in issue or if it is a part of res gestae.

22. “ Oral admissions as to the contents of a document are not relevant, unless and until the party proposing to prove them shows that he is entitled to give secondary evidence of the contents of such document under the rules hereinafter contained, or unless the genuineness of a document produced is in question. ” -WHEN ORAL ADMISSIONS AS TO CONTENTS OF DOCUMENTS ARE RELEVANT. SECTION - 22

23. “ Oral admissions as to the contents of electronic records are not relevant, unless the genuineness of the electronic record produced is in question. ” -WHEN ORAL ADMISSIONS AS TO CONTENTS OF ELECTRONIC RECORDS ARE RELEVANT. SECTION – 22-A

24. WHEN ORAL ADMISSIONS AS TO CONTENTS OF DOCUMENTS ARE RELEVANT. & WHEN ORAL ADMISSIONS AS TO CONTENTS OF ELECTRONIC RECORDS ARE RELEVANT. Section 22, along with section 65 and section 22A (inserted by the Information Technology Act, 2000) provides that oral admissions as to the content of documents or electronic records are irrelevant unless the question is about the document or record being forged or genuine.

25. “ In civil cases no admission is relevant, if it is made either upon an express condition that evidence of it is not to be given, or under circumstances from which the Court can infer that the parties agreed together that evidence of it should not be given. Explanation .—Nothing in this section shall be taken to exempt any barrister, pleader, attorney or vakil from giving evidence of any matter of which he may be compelled to give evidence under section 126. ” -ADMISSIONS IN CIVIL CASES, WHEN RELEVANT SECTION - 23

26. -ADMISSIONS IN CIVIL CASES, WHEN RELEVANT In civil cases, when a statement or an admission is made ‘without prejudice,’ it is not relevant. It means that both the parties have agreed to that admission and no evidence is to be provided regarding the same. This section is meant to reach a compromise between parties and avoid litigation. It protects every admission made where ‘without prejudice’ is expressly or impliedly stated and they cannot be disclosed in the court, except by the consent of both the parties to the suit. In Paddock v Forrester (1842 3 Scott NR 715: 133 ER 1404) a letter was written by one party ‘without prejudice.’ The reply to the letter was not so marked but it was held to be inadmissible by the court. Only those admissions which come under the purview of Section 126 are to be compulsorily disclosed by the lawyer.

27. B.A Ramaiah V. State of A.P.1997 SC496.  In this case, Supreme Court held that the statement in FIR furnished by one of the accused cannot be used against another accused unless its makers offered himself as a witness in the trial. It has very limited use of it as evidence under Section 21 of the Act against its maker alone unless the admission does not amount confession.

28. ADMISSION AND CONFESSION An admission usually relates to civil transaction and comprises all statements amounting to admission defined under Section 17 and made by person mentioned under Sections 18, 19 and 20. ADMISSION CONFESSION A confession is a statement made by an accused person which is sought to be proved against him in criminal proceeding to establish the commission of an offence by him.

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