Law and You >Procedural Laws > Indian Evidence Act, 1872 > Facts and Their Classification
The Law of Evidence revolves around two cardinal things: facts and proof. It is these two things that combine to form evidence, which the court may or may not accept as showing the merit or otherwise of a party’s case. Where the court believes the facts shown by a party in any proceeding exist or when it is convinced that a reasonable person would see them as existing, the fact is said to be proved. If the court is not satisfied that those facts exist or is convinced that a reasonable person would not see them as existing, the fact is said to be “disproved”. Thus ‘Facts’ are important in any case. In this article, we shall study the meaning of the term “Fact” and the classification of facts.
Steve Uglow in his book ‘Evidence: Text and Materials’ 1997 Edition says the term “fact” is being used in three different senses:
- the information provided by the witness and other evidence;
- the conclusion drawn by the trier of fact from the information presented in Court as to what actually happened; and
- the legal concepts, facts in issue, that must be established if a particular party to legal proceedings is to succeed.”
Section 3 of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872
According to Section 3 of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872,
“Fact” means and includes:
- anything, state of things, or relation of things, capable of being perceived by the senses;
- 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.
Classification of Facts:
Depending Upon Perception:
Depending upon whether the fact is perceived by senses or not, facts are classified into two types a) physical facts and b) psychological facts
Physical facts:
In the context of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872, the term “physical facts” refers to material, tangible, or observable objects and occurrences that are relevant to a case. Clause (1) of Section 3 refers to the things which are subject to perception by bodily senses (vision, touch, taste, hearing, Smell). Such things which are subjected to the perception of bodily senses are called physical facts. They are also called external facts because they are present outside the body and perceived by senses (refer to illustrations (a), (b), and (c)). These facts can be felt by other persons easily.
Physical facts include both animate and inanimate objects because both of them has common characteristics that they possess physical bodies.
- Human body dead or alive is a physical fact
- A drunken driver is a physical fact
Physical facts, when properly presented and connected to the facts in issue, can contribute to a comprehensive understanding of the events under consideration in legal proceedings.
Psychological Facts:
Clause (2) of Section 3 refers to those facts, which cannot be perceived by senses and are ‘Psychological Facts’ (refer to illustrations (d) and (e)). They are also known as internal facts. Psychological facts are not subject to perception by bodily senses (vision, touch, taste, hearing, Smell) are called psychological facts. These facts have seat in animate being. Opinion, intention, good faith, fear, ill-will, anger, hatred, knowledge, betrayal, etc. comes under psychological facts. Psychological facts can only be felt by the person who is entertaining those feelings and not by others unless those internal feelings are manifested through expressions and actions by that person.
- Intention to kill a person
- Hatching a conspiracy
- A fraudulently sold his car to B.
- A has a bad opinion about B.
While the Indian Evidence Act does not explicitly use the term “psychological facts,” it provides for the admission of evidence that is relevant to understanding the mental and emotional aspects of individuals involved in legal proceedings.
Distinguishing Between Physical Facts and Psychological Facts:
| Physical Facts | Psychological Facts |
| Clause (1) of Section 3 refers to the things which are subject to perception by bodily senses (vision, touch, taste, hearing, Smell) are called physical facts. | Clause (2) of Section 3 refers to those facts, which cannot be perceived by senses and are ‘Psychological Facts’ |
| They are also called external facts because they are present outside the body. | They are also called Internal facts because they are present inside the body in the mind of a person. |
| These facts can be felt by other persons easily. | They can only be felt by the person who is entertaining those feelings and not by others unless those internal feelings are manifested through expressions and actions by that person. |
| Examples: a man heard or saw something, a man said certain words, etc. | Examples: a man holds a certain opinion, a man has a certain reputation, etc. |
Depending Upon Existence:
Depending upon the Existence of the Facts they are classified into two types a) positive facts and b) negative facts. In legal contexts, such as those governed by the rules of evidence, positive and negative facts refer to two different types of propositions or assertions. These terms are often used in the context of burden of proof and the presentation of evidence in court.
Positive Fact:
Presence or existence of fact is a positive fact. They are affirmative and present. For example, A killed B. There are blood strains on the ground and a deep wound on the abdomen of B with blood oozing out. There is a knife in hand of A. All these facts are in existence, hence they can be called positive facts. It is easier to prove positive facts.
Negative Fact:
The absence or non-existence of a fact is called a negative fact. They are not present. Examples: nothing is heard about A for the last 5 years, Nobody has seen both A and B together for the last month. No weapon is found near the murder site, etc. They are not easy to prove.
In the context of evidence law, the burden of proof typically lies with the party making the positive assertion. For example, in a criminal case, the prosecution has the burden to prove the guilt of the accused (positive fact). In a civil case, the plaintiff has the burden to prove the elements of their claim.
Depending on Sequence of Inference:
Facts can also be classified as a) primary fact and b) secondary fact
Primary fact is the fact, which is collected directly and specifically. There are second, third, fourth, etc. level of facts those can be inferred from immediately preceding primary facts and can be used as credible circumstantial evidence. Ho Hock Lai in his book ‘A philosophy of Evidence Law: Justice in Search of Truth’, published by Oxford Edition Press, 2008 Edition, says that “More generally, proposition of fact come at different levels of formulation or abstraction and differentiation is more fine-grained than is suggested by the simple two-fold classification. The proposition that the husband put arsenic in his wife’s coffee is basic relative to the proposition that the husband caused the wife’s death, which is turn is more basic than the proposition that the husband murdered his wife.”
Future Facts:
Facts which are merely likely to occur and have not already occurred are not facts within the meaning of Section 3 of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872.
In Dueful Laboratory v. State, 1998 Cr LJ 4534 (Raj) case, the Court held that events which have neither occurred in the past nor in the present but are likely to occur in the future does not fall within the ambit of the definition of “Fact” under the Indian Evidence Act, 1872.
In Uday v. State of Karnataka 2003 (4) SCC 46 case, the question was whether sexual intercourse, consent to which was given on a false promise of marriage, is rape or not. The Supreme Court on a re-appreciation of evidence found that neither was the prosecutrix a minor at the relevant time nor did the appellant have sexual intercourse with the prosecutrix “against her will”. The charge of rape was then sought to be pressed against the appellant on the ground that he had obtained consent to sexual intercourse by making a false promise of marriage and such a consent, covered by the expression “misconception of fact”, is vitiated by Section 90. The Supreme Court, accepting this contention, ruled that a false promise of marriage is covered by the expression “misconception of fact” and a consent thus obtained is vitiated by Section 90; accordingly, it was held that sexual intercourse, consent to which is obtained by making a false promise of marriage, is rape within the meaning of Section 375 of I.PC. However, in the instant fact situation, the SC found it to be a case of breach of promise and not false promise and acquitted the appellant of the charge of rape under Section 376 of the I.P.C. The Supreme Court observed: “.. the consent given by the prosecutrix to sexual intercourse with a person with whom she is deeply in love on a promise that he would marry her on a later date, cannot be said to be given under a misconception of the fact. A false promise is not a fact within the meaning of the Code.”
Conclusion:
Facts and proof are very important aspect of the Law of evidence. It is these two things that combine to form evidence, which the court may or may not accept as showing the merit or otherwise of a party’s case. Thus the essence of a judicial investigation lies in the enforcement of right or liability which depends on certain facts and the proficiency of a witness. Hence understanding the concept of “facts” is very important for the study of the law of evidence. In the next article, we shall study the concept of proved fact, disproved fact, and not proved fact.
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