The Supreme Court of India has reiterated an important principle of evidence law: merely marking a document as an exhibit does not automatically prove its contents.
Case title ; Vinod Jaswantray Vyas (Dead) Through LRs v. State of Gujarat, decided on 9 July 2024.
The case arose from a custodial death in Gujarat. During the proceedings, the evidentiary value of a document marked as an exhibit became relevant.
The Supreme Court reiterated that merely assigning an exhibit number to a document does not establish the truth of the statements contained in that document.
What Did the Supreme Court Hold?
The Court relied upon its earlier decisions, including Sait Tarajee Khimchand v. Yelamarti Satyam (1972) and Narbada Devi Gupta v. Birendra Kumar Jaiswal (2003).
The settled principle is:
“Marking a document as an exhibit is not proof of its contents.”
A document may be marked as Ex.P-1, Ex.D-1 or Exhibit-53, but that alone does not mean that its contents have been legally proved.
Why Is This Judgment Important?
This ruling is particularly important in civil and criminal trials involving documentary evidence.
Simply because a letter, agreement, report, medical document, account statement or other document has been exhibited does not necessarily mean that every statement contained in it can be treated as proved.
Therefore, lawyers should distinguish between:
- Production of a document
- Marking of a document
- Admissibility of a document
- Proof of its contents
- Evidentiary value of the document
These are not necessarily the same thing.
Key Takeaway for Litigants
Exhibit number does not equal proof.
If the opposite party relies upon a document merely because it has been marked as an exhibit, its mode of proof, admissibility, authenticity and evidentiary value may still require examination.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is this principle relevant under the new evidence law?
Yes. Present-day cases are governed by the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023, and the applicable provisions concerning documentary evidence must be considered.
