Sections 16 and 17 of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872: Course of Business and Admission
Sections 16 and 17 form part of the law of relevancy under the Indian Evidence Act, 1872. Section 16 deals with the relevance of an established course of business when the Court must decide whether a particular act was done. Section 17 begins the statutory scheme relating to admissions by defining what amounts to an admission.
Section 16 - Existence of course of business, when relevant
Meaning: Section 16 makes an existing and regular course of business relevant when the question before the Court is whether a particular act was done. A proved routine or systematic practice may therefore be considered as a relevant fact if, according to that practice, the act would naturally have been performed.
When there is a question whether a particular act was done, the existence of any course of business, according to which it naturally would have been done, is a relevant fact.
Illustrations to Section 16
- The question is whether a particular letter was dispatched. The facts that it was the ordinary course of business for all letters put in a certain place to be carried to the post, and that the particular letter was put in that place, are relevant.
- The question is whether a particular letter reached A. The facts that it was posted in due course and was not returned through the Dead Letter Office are relevant.
These illustrations show the practical purpose of Section 16: proof of a regular office or business practice can support an inference about whether the usual step was carried out in a particular case. The existence of the routine is a relevant fact; the weight ultimately given to it depends on the evidence and circumstances before the Court.
Section 17 - Admission defined
Meaning: Section 17 defines an admission for the purposes of the Indian Evidence Act. The definition covers a statement that suggests an inference about a fact in issue or a relevant fact, provided that the statement is made by a person and in circumstances recognised by the provisions that follow Section 17.
An admission is a statement, 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.
Essential elements of an admission under Section 17
For the statutory definition to be attracted, there must be a statement; it may be oral, documentary or contained in electronic form; the statement must suggest an inference concerning a fact in issue or a relevant fact; and it must be made by a person and under circumstances dealt with in the succeeding provisions on admissions.
Connection with Sections 18 to 20
Section 17 supplies the general definition. The succeeding provisions identify the persons whose statements may amount to admissions in specified circumstances. For related provisions, see Section 18 - admission by a party to a proceeding or agent and Sections 19 and 20 - other specified admissions.
Difference between Sections 16 and 17
Section 16 concerns the relevance of a regular course of business as circumstantial evidence that an act was done in the ordinary manner. Section 17, by contrast, defines an admission and introduces the group of provisions governing statements that may be relevant because they suggest an inference about a fact in issue or relevant fact.
Legal context before the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023
The Indian Evidence Act, 1872 governed the general law of evidence before the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023 came into force. For the official text of the earlier Act, readers may refer to India Code - Indian Evidence Act, 1872. For proceedings governed by the new evidence law, see the website's Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023 resource.
This page is an explanatory legal information article. Application of evidentiary rules depends on the facts, the nature and date of the proceeding, and the law governing that proceeding.