Formal Admission

Facts  that need not to  proved:

a.Facts which  come  within  the definition  of judicial notice.

b.Facts admitted by the opponent  in the course  of court proceeding.[Section 4 of Evidence Act 2031] and

c.Facts which come within the  definition  of presumption of law and presumption of fact .[Section 6 and 7 of Evidence Act ,2031]

According to Section 56 of Indian Evidence Act 1872, facts  of which court  will take  judicial notice  need not  to proved by  the parties  to any court proceedings.

The expression ‘judicial notice ‘ means  notice  or recognition  of the truth  of the fact .

Formal Admission

Judicial notice


Formal Admission:

The expression “Admission “means voluntarily acknowledgment  of the existence  or truth  of a particular  fact. It deals with admission by statements   only  oral or written  or contained  in an electronic  form. Admission plays  a very important  role  in judicial proceedings. If one party  to the suit  or any  other proceeding  proves  that  the other party  has admitted  his/her  case, the work of court  becomes  easier. An admission must be clear, precise, not vague or ambiguous. The evidence  Act ,2031 of Nepal has not mentioned the terms ‘admission’ and  ‘confession’. Generally  we can found  two different  views regarding  admission: the first  one is British view  and the second  one is Indian view. The sec. 9 of  British  Civil Evidence  Act 1968, defines admission  as” statements  against  interest  by a party”. In British system admission is applied  only in civil  matter/case. Section 17 of Indian Evidence Act 1972, defines admission   that covers both the scope of civil and criminal matters/cases. It defines admission  as’ a statement , oral documentary  which suggests any inference as to any fact in issue  or relevant  fact. This definition is much broader  and  wider. It means admission  is the statement that  refers  to  the acceptance  of the  certain  facts which  is related  to fact in issue  or relevant fact. In the  case of Md.Baksh vs.Crown , the Indian Court held  that there  may be  the admission  in criminal cases. Admission is applied as evidence against the part making it. The principle is that  no one  generally  speaks  against  his/her  interest unless  the subject  matter is true.


Person competent to make admission:

a. Parties to the litigation.

b. His/her agent acting  under his/her  order.

c. His /her legal representative.

d. Person having joint interest  in the subject matter of the suit is derived from.

e. Person whose liability  is in question.

f. Person  to whom suit  expressly refers to.


Admissions are applied as evidence against  the party making it. The principle is that no one  generally speaks against his/her own interest unless the subject  matter is true.

However there are three exceptional situations where admission is relevant  in one’s own favor  and these situations are as follows;

  1. Statement accompanied by body or bodily feelings including statement made  on the spot  spontaneous with  the incident.
  2. Statement made by persons who cannot be found.
  3. Statement relevant  as evidence  other than admission
  4. Statement  made with   a view  to come  to a compromise  can never  be given  as an evidence  because  dispute  whenever  possible  must be tried  to be solved  by amicable means.
  5. Admission can never be  a conclusive  proof  but it may  operate  as its estoppels. An admission  made by  the party  to the litigation  is always  relied  upon  by the court  and separate  evidence  need not be  given to prove such  facts.

In the case of Bhuwane vs.Hijmajesty’s Government of Nepal, Supreme Court has made  decision that “admission  alone  is not  sufficient  to hold  a person  liable  for murdered

Characteristics of admission:

To constitute admission , the following  characteristics are  to be present;

a.It may be  oral or documentary.

b.It is a statement  to suggest  any inference  as to any  fact in issue  or relevant fact.

c.It may be made  by any person prescribed  under the law.

d.It must be made under the  circumstances prescribed  under the law.

Nature of Admission: The statement made by parties  during judicial  proceeding  are self  regarding statement .The self regarding statements are may be classified  under two heads are

  1. Self-serving statements : are those , which serve, promote or advance the interest of the person  making  it. Hence, they are not allowed  to be proved. They enable  to create  evidence  for  themselves.

b.Self-harming statements: are  those , which harm or prejudice  or injure  the interest  of the person  making it. These self-harming statements  are technically known  as ‘Admissions’ and are allowed  to be proved.

Importance of Admission:

An admission  is the best evidence  against the party making  the same unless it is  untrue  and made under the circumstances ,which does not  make it binding  on him/her. Admission by a party  is substantive evidence of the fact admitted by him/her. Admissions duly proved are admissible evidence irrespective  of whether  the party making  the admission appeared  in the witness box  or not. In fact, admission is the best  substantive evidence  that an opposite  party can  rely  upon it. The evidentiary value  of admission by  the Government  is merely relevant  and not conclusive , unless the party  to whom  they are made  has acted  upon  and thus  altered his/her  detriment.