Reconfirmation of Rules of Admission by Supreme Court of India

Recently yesterday, the Hon'ble Apex Court of India has reconfirmed the Rules and Laws about the Admissions of a party while adjudicating CIVIL APPEAL NO.1241 OF 2005, between Vathsala Manickavasagam & Ors -versus-N. Ganesan & Anr. and has thoroughly discussed the provisions of Section:17 of the Evidence Act and ruled as follows that- Section 17 of the Evidence Act reads as under: “S.17. Admission defined:- 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.” As far as the principle to be applied in Section 17 is concerned, the Section as it reads is an admission, which constitutes a substantial piece of evidence, which can be relied upon for proving the veracity of the facts, incorporated therein. When once, the admission as noted in a statement either oral or documentary is found, then the whole onus would shift to the party who made such an admission and it will become an imperative duty on such party to explain it. In the absence of any satisfactory explanation, it will have to be presumed to be true. It is needless to state that an admission in order to be complete and to have the value and effect referred to therein, should be clear, certain and definite, without any ambiguity, vagueness or confusion. In this context, it will be worthwhile to refer to a decision of this Court in Union of India Vs. Moksh Builders and Financiers Ltd. and others - AIR 1977 SC 409 wherein it is held as under: “…It has been held by this Court in Bharat Singh v. Bhagirath [1966] 1 SCR 606 = AIR 1966 SC 405 that an admission is substantive evidence of the fact admitted, and that admissions duly proved are "admissible evidence irrespective of whether the party making them appeared in the witness box or not and whether that party when appearing as witness was confronted with those statements in case it made a statement contrary to those admissions." In taking this view this Court has noticed the decision in Ajodhya Prasad Bhargava v. Bhawani Shanker - AIR 1957 All 1 (FB) also.”