ADMISSIONS

Man Mohan Sharma

District Judge (Commercial Courts)
Tis Hazari Courts—Delhi
 ADMISSIONS
• Indian Evidence Act, 1872 (Substantive law)
• Section 17-23 (Admissions in civil law)
• Section 24-30 (Confessions, as species of Admissions )
• Section 31 and 58 (Effect of Admissions)
• Section 10 (Statements of members of conspiracy)
• Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (Procedural law)
• Order XII (Admissions)
• Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (Procedural law)
• Section 164 (Recording of confessions and statements)
• Section 294 (No formal proof of certain documents)
 Characteristic Features
A statement
Oral or documentary or in electronic form
Suggests any inference as to any fact in issue or relevant fact
Made by a classified person
Made under defined circumstances
Can be express or implied
Self-harming(against the interest of the maker)
 Sections 17-20 IEA
Section 17-20 is in fact a single section
Section 17 defines the term admission but does not complete the
definition (the words used are… ‘which is made by any of the person
and under the circumstances hereinafter mentioned)
Section 18-20 define the persons who are entitled to make admissions
and the circumstances under which they can make admission
Section 17-20 give a comprehensive definition of the term admission
This definition of admission is restrictive and different from the
dictionary defintion
Classified persons and circumstances
SECTION PERSON MAKING ADMISSION
18 Party to proceeding or his Agent(expressly
or impliedly authorized by party)
(e.g. lawyer, partner, GPA/SPA holder)
Suitors in representative capacity
(e.g. Director of a company, spokesperson
of a political party )
Person from whom interest derived
(e.g. seller of a property, testator of a will)
19 Person whose position must be proved as
against party to suit
20 Persons referred to by party to suit
CIRCUMSTANCE
Made during the period when held that
character
Made during the continuance of interest of the
persons making the statement
Made whilst the person occupies such position
or is subject to such a liability
Made when referred for information in
reference to a matter in dispute
S. 21 Relevancy and proof of admissions
• Self harming Admissions are relevant and can be proved.
• Self-serving Admissions are not relevant except in the following
circumstances
• When it is of such a nature that if the person making it were dead it would be
relevant as between third persons u/s 32 IEA.
• When it consists of any state of mind or body, relevant or in issue made at or
about a time when such a state of mind or body existed, and is accompanied
by conduct rendering its falsehood improbable
• When it is relevant otherwise than as an admission
S. 22 Oral Admissions as to contents of
documents
• Generally not relevant
• Exceptions
1. When it is proved that the person making them is entitled to give secondary
evidence of such document u/s 65 IEA
2. When the genuineness of a document produced is in question
3. In the case of contents of electronic records, oral evidence is relevant only
under the second circumstance mentioned above (S. 22A)
 Not relevant as Admission
1. When an admission is made upon an express condition that evidence of
it is not to be given
2. When an admission is made under circumstances from which the Court
can infer that the parties agreed together that evidence of it should not
be given
3. In general parlance, these are called ‘without prejudice’ communications
Examples
• An insurer offering a settlement amount without admission of claim
• A borrower offering to compromise the suit of banker without admitting
the claim
 S.31 and 58 IEA(Effect of Admissions)
• Admissions is the weakest type of evidence
• It is no conclusive proof of the truth of the facts admitted
• An admission may operate as estoppel against the maker (an estoppel
is a statement, the truth of which cannot be denied by the maker if the
other person has changed his position believing the said statement to
be true)
• Facts admitted relieve the opposite party from the burden of proving
the admitted facts
• Court is not bound by admissions and can call for proof of facts
admitted,otherwise than by such admissions.
 Salient Features
• Dispenses with the need to prove a fact or document
• Saves time, cost and expense
• Expedites the trial
• Admissions can be of facts or of documents
• It can be in pleadings or in other documents
• Admissions should be taken as a whole—one cannot accept a part of
it and reject the rest if the statement is not severable.
 Coming out of Admission
A person can come out of an admission by showing
It was erroneous or made under some mistake as to fact
It was untrue
It was made by a person, who cannot bind the person by whom it is made
(Proxy admissions) [There are exceptions to it based on principle of
agency like statement of a co-conspirator in section 10 IEA or the
statement of a partner of a partnership firm)
It is not complete by itself (missing words in a statement cannot be
supplied by “filling up the blanks”)
Nature of Admissions for Judgment
It must be
• Specific or definite
• Clear
• Unambiguous
• Unequivocal
• Ought to be taken as a whole
 Order XII CPC
• Rule 1:Notice of admission of case
 either by pleading or otherwise in writing

• Rule 2: Notice to admit documents

 notice to admit the documents within 7 days of service
 Refusal or neglect would put costs of proving such document upon the party so refusing
or neglecting (irrespective of the result of the suit), unless the Court directs otherwise
 No costs of proving such document shall be allowed (exception where in the opinion of
Court omission to give notice is a saving of expense)
 Order XII CPC Contd…
• Rule 2A: Document deemed to be admitted if not denied after service
of notice to admit documents
 If not denied specifically or by necessary implication, or
 Stated to be not admitted in the pleading of that party, or
 In reply to the notice to admit documents
 Exception: the above will not apply to a person under a disability
 Proviso: the Court, in its discretion may require any document deemed to be admitted to
be proved otherwise than by such admission
• Rule 3: Form of notice
 Appendix C
 Form No. 9
 Order XII CPC Contd…
• Rule 3A: Power of Court to record admission
 Non-obstante clause (overrules Rule 2)
 Court can act suo-motu
 In case in which no notice is given
 Call upon the party to admit any document
 Record such admission/refusal/neglect to admit documents
 Order XII CPC Contd…
• Rule 4: Notice to admit facts
 Notice by party
 In writing
 Not later than 9 days before the date fixed for hearing
 Call the other party to admit any specific fact/facts mentioned in notice
 Refusal/neglect to admit within 6 days of service of notice or within such further time as
the Court may allow, the said party would bear the costs of proving such fact/facts
(whatever the result of suit maybe unless the Court otherwise directs )
 Proviso: Any such admission
 Shall be only for the limited purpose of the particular suit
 Cannot be used against the said party on any other occasion
 Cannot be used against the said party in favour of any other party other than the party giving
the notice
 Order XII CPC Contd…
• Rule 5: Form of admission
Notice to admit facts
Appendix C
Form No. 11 (Notice to admit facts)
Form No. 12 (Admission of facts)
Such variations as the circumstances may require can be made in
above forms
 Order XII CPC Contd…
• Rule 6: Judgment on admissions
 May invite judgment if facts admitted
 In pleadings or otherwise
 Oral or in writing
 Judgment can be passed
 At any stage of the suit
 On an application of any party or suo-motu
 It is discretion of the Court
 No need to wait for the determination of any other question between the parties
 It may be passed having regard to such admissions
 Decree shall be drawn up in accordance with the judgment
 Order XII CPC Contd…
• Rule 7: Affidavit of signature
An affidavit of a pleader or his clerk, of the due signature of any admissions
made in pursuance of any notice to admit documents or facts, shall be
sufficient evidence of such admissions, if evidence thereof is required.
• Rule 8: Notice to produce documents
 Shall be in Appendix C
 Form No. 12 with such variations as circumstances may require
 Service of notice can be proved by an affidavit of pleader/clerk along with a copy of the notice
• Rule 9: Costs
If notice to admit facts/produced documents is not necessary, the costs shall
be borne by the party giving such notice