Secondary Evidence Of Document Can't Be Accepted During Cross-Examination If Suppressed At Earlier Stages: Chhattisgarh High Court

The Chhattisgarh High Court, interpreting the provisions of the Indian Evidence Act, has ruled that secondary evidence can be considered reliable and admissible if the original document is proven to be unavailable. Secondary evidence includes copies, oral accounts of the contents of a document, or other forms of evidence that are not the original document itself. The High Court observed that while the "best evidence rule" requires the production of the original document, there are exceptions. If a party can satisfactorily prove to the court that the original document has been lost, destroyed, or is otherwise not available despite their best efforts, then secondary evidence can be led to prove the contents of the document. This ruling upholds a crucial exception in the law of evidence, ensuring that a party's case is not defeated simply because the original document is genuinely unavailable.