mehnatCircumstances under which (some portion of) an FIR becomes substantive evidence
Top of PageAn FIR (or part of it) becomes substantive evidence if it is admitted as substantive evidence by the concerned court. This happens in 3 common circumstances and in a few additional circumstances, all of which can be seen in Section 32 of the Indian Evidence Act. As far as the 3 common circumstances are concerned, you can see the 1st circumstance here (below), the 2nd circumstance here (below), and the 3rd circumstance here (below)). These 3 common circumstances are all contemplated in Section 32(1) of the Indian Evidence Act, and all of them relate to death.
Note that certain statements made by dead persons can be admitted under Section 8 and / or Section 6 of the Indian Evidence Act also (apart from under Section 32(1) of the Indian Evidence Act) as can be seen in Damodarprasad Chandrikaprasad[29][21] for Section 8 (see in this article) and Rattan Singh[30][23] for Section 6 (see in this article).
Coming to the rest of Section 32 of the Evidence Act, note that a full bench of the Supreme Court has declared in Kans Raj[31][25] (see in this article) that any statementadmitted under any sub-section of Section 32 (and not just under Section 32(1)) of the Indian Evidence Act constitutes substantive evidence, after it is proved by the person or the agency relying upon such statement that such statement was in fact made by the concerned person. If this position is accepted as a clear and unambiguous statement then it becomes necessary to say that if certain types of statements of not only dead persons but of those persons who cannot be found and of those persons whose attendance is unreasonably difficult to procure are contained in an FIR, then the said FIR becomes substantive evidence.
The bare text of Section 32(1) [20] of the Evidence Act is as follows–
Indian Evidence Act Section 32(1): Cases in which statement of relevant fact by person who is dead or cannot be found, etc., is relevantTop of Page
(source: devgan.in)
Statements, written or verbal, of relevant facts made by a person who is dead, or who cannot be found, or who has become incapable of giving evidence, or whose attendance cannot be procured, without an amount of delay or expense which under the circumstances of the case appears to the Court unreasonable, are themselves relevant facts in the following cases–
(1) When it relates to cause of death: When the statement is made by a person as to the cause of his death, or as to any of the circumstances of the transaction which resulted in his death, in cases in which the cause of that person’s death comes into question.
Such statements are relevant whether the person who made them was or was not, at the time when they were made, under expectation of death, and whatever may be the nature of the proceeding in which the cause of his death comes into question.
Detailed explanation of the above indicated 3 commonly seen circumstances is given hereunder—
When an F.I.R. contains a dying declaration
Top of PageIf a dying declaration is a part of an FIR then the FIR becomes substantive evidence.
(It is more reasonable to say that that part of the FIR becomes substantive evidence which consists of the said dying declaration, as also that part which is directly derived from the said dying declaration. It may further be conjectured here that the whole of the FIR in such cases is also eligible to be treated as substantive evidence if the judge decides to do so keeping in view the given matrix of facts, but conjectures are conjectures.)
It is to be noted that every dying declaration is admissible as evidence under section 32(1) of the Indian Evidence Act, but only after it is established that such declaration had actually been made by the person who died.
Further note that a dying declaration is admissible only in cases where the cause of death of the concerned person comes into question, albeit the nature of proceedings where it comes into question is immaterial. Another way of stating this is that dying declarations are admissible in all kinds of legal proceedings and not just in murder / suicide related proceedings, provided that the cause of the dead person's death comes into question within the said proceedings.
When an FIR contains a declaration about probable cause of death of a dead person
Top of PageIf a person makes a statement about a probable cause of his death and later dies AND such statement becomes part of an FIR then that portion of the FIR which consists of such statement plus that part which is directly derived from such statement becomes substantive evidence.
When an FIR contains a declaration about some circumstance related to death of a dead person
Top of PageIf a person makes a statement about some circumstance, and later it turns out that the circumstance was related to any transaction which led to his death then that portion of the FIR which consists of such statement plus that part which is directly derived from such statement becomes substantive evidence. The said circumstance may have occurred long before the death of the concerned person; this does not affect admissibility of the said statement.
References:
Top of Page20)Section 32 of Indian Evidence Act– Cases in which statement of relevant fact by person who is dead or cannot be found, etc., is relevant; devgan.in; Delhi; Undated; Retrieved on 29th May 2021
21)Damodarprasad Chandrikaprasad & others vs State of Maharashtra on 29 November, 1971; Indiankanoon.org; Delhi; Undated; Retrieved on 30th May 2021
23)Rattan Singh vs The State of Himachal Pradesh on 11 December, 1996; Indiankanoon.org; Delhi; Undated; Retrieved on 30th May 2021
25)Kans Raj vs State of Punjab & others on 26 April, 2000; Indiankanoon.org; Delhi; Undated; Retrieved on 30th May 2021
29) Damodarprasad Chandrikaprasad & Others vs State Of Maharashtra; sci.gov.in; Delhi; 1971/11/29; Retrieved on 01st July 2025
30) Rattan Singh vs The State Of Himachal Pradesh; sci.gov.in; Delhi; 1996/12/11; Retrieved on 01st July 2025
31) Kans Raj vs State of Punjab & others; sci.gov.in; Delhi; 2000/04/26; Retrieved on 01st July 2025