Formal Admission

Facts that need not to proved:

• Facts which come within the definition of judicial notice.

• Facts admitted by the opponent in the course of court proceeding.[Section 4 of Evidence Act 2031] and

• Facts which come within the definition of presumption of law and presumption of fact .[Section 6 and 7 of Evidence Act ,2031]

According to Section 56 of Indian Evidence Act 1872, facts of which court will take judicial notice need not to proved by the parties to any court proceedings.

The expression ‘judicial notice ‘ means notice or recognition of the truth of the fact .

Formal Admission

Judicial notice

Presumption

Formal Admission:

The expression “Admission “means voluntarily acknowledgment of the existence or truth of a particular fact. It deals with admission by statements only oral or written or contained in an electronic form. Admission plays a very important role in judicial proceedings. If one party to the suit or any other proceeding proves that the other party has admitted his/her case, the work of court becomes easier. An admission must be clear, precise, not vague or ambiguous. The evidence Act ,2031 of Nepal has not mentioned the terms ‘admission’ and ‘confession’. Generally we can found two different views regarding admission: the first one is British view and the second one is Indian view. The sec. 9 of British Civil Evidence Act 1968, defines admission as” statements against interest by a party”. In British system admission is applied only in civil matter/case. Section 17 of Indian Evidence Act 1972, defines admission that covers both the scope of civil and criminal matters/cases. It defines admission as’ a statement , oral documentary which suggests any inference as to any fact in issue or relevant fact. This definition is much broader and wider. It means admission is the statement that refers to the acceptance of the certain facts which is related to fact in issue or relevant fact. In the case of Md.Baksh vs.Crown , the Indian Court held that there may be the admission in criminal cases. Admission is applied as evidence against the part making it. The principle is that no one generally speaks against his/her interest unless the subject matter is true.

Person competent to make admission:

• Parties to the litigation.
• His/her agent acting under his/her order.
• His /her legal representative.
• Person having joint interest in the subject matter of the suit is derived from.
• Person whose liability is in question.
• Person to whom suit expressly refers to.

Admissions are applied as evidence against the party making it. The principle is that no one generally speaks against his/her own interest unless the subject matter is true.

However there are three exceptional situations where admission is relevant in one’s own favor and these situations are as follows;

1. Statement accompanied by body or bodily feelings including statement made on the spot spontaneous with the incident.
2. Statement made by persons who cannot be found.
3. Statement relevant as evidence other than admission
4. Statement made with a view to come to a compromise can never be given as an evidence because dispute whenever possible must be tried to be solved by amicable means.
5. Admission can never be a conclusive proof but it may operate as its estoppels. An admission made by the party to the litigation is always relied upon by the court and separate evidence need not be given to prove such facts.

In the case of Bhuwane vs.Hijmajesty’s Government of Nepal, Supreme Court has made decision that “admission alone is not sufficient to hold a person liable for murdered

Characteristics of admission:

To constitute admission , the following characteristics are to be present;

• It may be oral or documentary.

• It is a statement to suggest any inference as to any fact in issue or relevant fact.

• It may be made by any person prescribed under the law.

• It must be made under the circumstances prescribed under the law.

Nature of Admission: The statement made by parties during judicial proceeding are self regarding statement .The self regarding statements are may be classified under two heads are

• Self-serving statements: are those , which serve, promote or advance the interest of the person making it. Hence, they are not allowed to be proved. They enable to create evidence for themselves.
• Self-harming statements: are those , which harm or prejudice or injure the interest of the person making it. These self-harming statements are technically known as ‘Admissions’ and are allowed to be proved.

Importance of Admission:

An admission is the best evidence against the party making the same unless it is untrue and made under the circumstances ,which does not make it binding on him/her. Admission by a party is substantive evidence of the fact admitted by him/her. Admissions duly proved are admissible evidence irrespective of whether the party making the admission appeared in the witness box or not. In fact, admission is the best substantive evidence that an opposite party can rely upon it. The evidentiary value of admission by the Government is merely relevant and not conclusive , unless the party to whom they are made has acted upon and thus altered his/her detriment.