Indian Evidence Act  Indian Evidence Act, act passed by the
British Parliament in 1872 that set forth the rules of evidence
admissible in Indian courts and that had far-reaching
consequences for the traditional systems of caste government in
India.  Since ancient times, the way of resolving intracaste
disputes had been by discussing the grievances in open meetings
of the caste council. All information that might possibly bear
on the case, however indirect, was allowable. Because the
persons involved normally knew one another well, possible
partiality could easily be identified and obviated. The
defendant knew and approved of the circumstances and procedures
of his trial. But much of the evidence was hearsay, the entire
proceedings were oral, and there was no documentary evidence at
all.  The procedures of state justice under the Indian Evidence
Act put in the place of caste justice an unfamiliar system in
which an outsider (a British judge) with no knowledge of the
caste and the circumstances of the case woul