​KembaraXtra – Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam (BSA) – Real and Personal Evidence

Meaning of Real Evidence
​Evidence may be classified as either real evidence or personal evidence. Real evidence refers to any physical or material object produced before the court for inspection. It includes objects that are directly connected with the facts in issue and are examined by the court itself.
Real evidence generally consists of tangible things belonging to the class of material objects. For example, a weapon used in the commission of an offence, blood-stained clothes, fingerprints, or any object connected with the crime may be produced before the court as real evidence. Similarly, where contempt of court is committed in the direct presence of the court, it becomes direct real evidence of the fact.
The court may also conduct local inspection of places or objects, and such inspection forms part of real evidence because the judge personally observes the relevant facts.

Meaning of Personal Evidence
Personal evidence refers to evidence given through human agency. It mainly consists of statements made by witnesses before the court regarding facts perceived by them through their senses.
Such evidence is usually oral in nature and depends upon the testimony of individuals who possess knowledge about the facts in issue. Witnesses explain and prove the existence of relevant facts through their statements before the court.
Thus, while real evidence is derived from material objects, personal evidence is derived from human testimony.

Real Evidence under the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam
In the draft report of the Select Committee, real evidence was proposed to be included under a separate category called material evidence. However, this category was later omitted.
James Fitz James Stephen justified this omission by stating that introducing a separate category for real evidence would create unnecessary complications in the law of evidence.
As a result, real evidence does not expressly form part of the statutory definition of “evidence” under the BSA.

Reason for Exclusion from Definition of Evidence
The reason why real evidence is not separately included in the definition of evidence is that the court itself becomes the original perceiving witness of such facts. When a material object is produced before the court, the judge directly inspects and observes it.
Further, material objects are usually proved through oral testimony of persons connected with them. Therefore, real evidence indirectly falls within the scope of oral evidence because witnesses speak about the objects produced before the court.
The objects themselves are relevant facts, while the testimony explaining those objects constitutes oral evidence.

Illustration
If a knife alleged to have been used in a murder is produced before the court, the knife itself constitutes real evidence. The witness identifying the knife and explaining its connection with the crime provides personal evidence.
Similarly, if a court directly witnesses contempt committed in its presence, the observation of the judge itself becomes real evidence of the occurrence.

Conclusion
Real evidence and personal evidence are two important forms of proof under the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam. Real evidence consists of material objects physically produced before the court, whereas personal evidence is provided through human testimony. Although real evidence is not separately defined under the BSA, it remains highly significant because it allows the court to directly inspect objects connected with the facts in issue.