§ SECTION 106 · BSA 2023 · CHAPTER VII — BURDEN OF PROOF

Burden of proof as to particular fact

Zooming from the whole case to a single fact. The burden of proving any particular fact lies on whoever wishes the court to believe that fact exists — unless a law puts its proof on a particular person.

How to read Section 106

Pick out one fact → whoever wants it believed must prove it → unless a law says otherwise.

The fact

Any particular fact in the case — a single, specific point.

Who proves it

Whoever wishes the court to believe that fact exists must prove it.

Unless a law says

Except where some law fixes the proof of that fact on a particular person.

The bare Act

The section in its own words — the rule and its illustration.

Section 106 · verbatim

The burden of proof as to any particular fact lies on that person who wishes the Court to believe in its existence, unless it is provided by any law that the proof of that fact shall lie on any particular person.

Illustration

A prosecutes B for theft, and wishes the Court to believe that B admitted the theft to C. A must prove the admission. B wishes the Court to believe that, at the time in question, he was elsewhere. He must prove it.

In short: the overall burden (§§ 104–105) fixes who must win the case; this section works at the level of a single fact. Whoever wants the court to accept a particular fact — whichever side he is on — must prove that fact. So the fact-burden can fall on the defendant even where the plaintiff or prosecution carries the case: if the accused sets up an alibi, that is a fact he wants believed, so it is his to prove. The only qualification is where a law itself directs that the proof of a given fact shall lie on a named person.

→ This carries forward IEA 1872 § 103 — the burden of proof as to a particular fact.

Glossary

particular fact

A single, specific fact within the case — not the whole claim.

wishes the Court to believe

Wants the court to accept that the fact is true.

in its existence

That the fact actually happened or is so.

unless…provided by any law

Subject to statutory exceptions that fix proof on a set person.

admission

B’s own acknowledgement of the theft — the fact A wants believed.

he was elsewhere

An alibi — the fact B wants believed.

The picture

Each particular fact follows whoever wants it believed — on either side of the case.

The section, part by part

Tap a part — the picture-story tells it first; the word-by-word text and example follow.

The ruleThe illustration

the ruleEach particular fact follows whoever wants it believed

In one lineThe burden of proving any particular fact lies on the party who wishes the court to believe it exists — unless a law fixes that proof on a particular person.

The burden of proof as to any particular fact lies on that person who wishes the Court to believe in its existence,who wants a fact believed → he proves itfor any single fact, the party who asks the court to accept it must prove it…

unless it is provided by any law that the proof of that fact shall lie on any particular person.→ except where a law fixes the proof on someone…unless a statute itself directs that proving that fact is a named person’s job.

ExampleIn a contract suit, if the defendant says the contract was later cancelled, that particular fact is his to prove — he is the one who wants the court to believe it.

✗ Not thisThis is about a single fact, not the whole case. The overall burden (§§ 104–105) may sit on one party while the burden of a particular fact sits on the other.

the illustrationOne theft case — two facts on opposite sides

In one lineIn A’s prosecution of B, two particular facts fall on opposite sides: A must prove B’s admission; B must prove his alibi.

A prosecutes B for theft, and wishes the Court to believe that B admitted the theft to C. A must prove the admission.A wants the admission believed → A proves itthe admission is the fact A relies on — so A must prove B made it.

B wishes the Court to believe that, at the time in question, he was elsewhere. He must prove it.B wants the alibi believed → B proves itthe alibi is the fact B relies on — so B must prove he was elsewhere.

ExampleThough the prosecution (A) carries the case overall, the alibi is a fact B wants the court to accept — so proving it is B’s job, not A’s.

✗ Not thisB does not have to prove his innocence at large. But a specific fact he asserts — the alibi — he must prove.

Connected provisions

§ 105 · back

IEA 1872, § 103

Carried forward — the burden as to a particular fact.

Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023 — Section 106: Burden of proof as to particular fact