Mere marking or exhibiting of a document in a court does not does not establish the legal validity or dispense with formal proof of its content, reaffirmed the Supreme Court in Sangeetha & Ors. v. Tmt. P. Ponni [2026 INSC 813].
Assigning Exhibit Number Just for Identification
Assigning an exhibit number is only for identification, and the contents or truth of the facts stated within the document must still be proved independently through primary or secondary evidence in accordance with the law.
Legal Principles of Exhibited Documents
- Marking a document with a number or alphabet merely identifies the paper presented by a witness and does not establish its legal validity or truth.
- Admitting or exhibiting a document in evidence and legally proving its contents are two completely separate procedural steps.
- Even if a document’s execution or handwriting is shown, the actual truth of the facts written inside must be verified by witnesses who can vouch for them.
- A party cannot bypass the mandatory rules of the Evidence Act just because an exhibit mark was placed on a paper during trial proceedings.
