§ SECTION 45 · BSA 2023 · CHAPTER II — RELEVANCY OF FACTS

Grounds of opinion, when relevant

The opinions run closes with a simple, powerful rule: whenever a living person’s opinion is relevant, the grounds on which it rests are also relevant — so the Court can see, and test, why.

How to read Section 45

The opinion, and its reasons, together.

The trigger

A living person’s opinion is relevant (§§ 39–44).

The rule

The grounds on which it is based are also relevant.

Why

So the opinion can be tested and weighed — e.g. an expert’s experiments.

The bare Act

The section in its own words — colour-keyed by what each phrase does.

Section 45 · verbatim

Whenever the opinion of any living person is relevant, the grounds on which such opinion is based are also relevant.

Illustration

An expert may give an account of experiments performed by him for the purpose of forming his opinion.

In short: an opinion means little without its reasons. So the law says: once a living person’s opinion is let in, the grounds behind it — the tests, experiments and reasoning — come in too, so the Court and the other side can examine and weigh the opinion, not just accept it.

→ This carries forward IEA 1872 § 51 — closing the run on opinions (§§ 39–45).

Glossary

opinion of any living person

An opinion made relevant by §§ 39–44 — expert, handwriting, custom, relationship, etc.

grounds of opinion

The reasons, data, tests and experiments on which the opinion is based.

also relevant

The grounds come in alongside the opinion — not instead of it.

experiments (illustration)

The classic example of “grounds” — an expert’s account of what he did to reach his view.

living person

The section is for the living; a dead person’s opinion travels by other provisions (e.g. § 26).

tested and weighed

What the grounds enable — cross-examination and judicial assessment of the opinion.

The picture

The opinion travels with its reasons.

The section, part by part

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

The ruleWhy the grounds matter

the ruleAn opinion — and the reasons behind it

In one lineWhenever a living person’s opinion is relevant, the grounds on which it is based are also relevant — so the Court can see, and test, why.

Whenever the opinion of any living person is relevant,when an opinion is relevantwhenever a living person’s opinion is relevant (under §§ 39–44)…

the grounds on which such opinion is based are also relevant.→ its grounds too…the grounds — the reasons it rests on — are also relevant.

ExampleAn expert may give an account of the experiments he performed to form his opinion — those experiments (the grounds) are relevant. A doctor may explain the tests and observations behind a diagnosis.

✗ Not thisThis is for the opinion of a living person (§§ 39–44) — a dead person’s opinion travels by other routes (e.g. § 26). And it lets in the grounds to test the opinion; it does not make the bare opinion conclusive.

why the grounds matterReasons make an opinion worth weighing

In one lineAn opinion is only as strong as its reasons — so the Court hears the grounds (the tests, experiments and reasoning) to test and weigh it.

the grounds — reasons, tests, experimentsthe reasoningthe why behind the opinion — the data, tests and reasoning it rests on.

are also relevant→ testableso the other side can probe them on cross-examination, and the Court can weigh the opinion properly.

ExampleThe Act’s illustration: an expert may describe the experiments he performed to reach his opinion. Those experiments come in as the grounds — and can be challenged.

✗ Not thisA bare “I think X” with no grounds carries little weight. This section is what lets the reasons in — but the opinion still has to survive the testing of those grounds; it is not made conclusive by them.

Connected provisions

§ 39

IEA 1872, § 51

Carried forward — the grounds of a relevant opinion are also relevant.

Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023 — Section 45: Grounds of opinion, when relevant