Chapter – III: Facts which need not be Proved (Section 56 – 58)

Section 56: Fact judicially noticeable need not be proved—

No fact of which the Court will take judicial notice need be proved.

Section 57: Facts of which Court must take judicial notice—

The Court shall take judicial notice of the following facts:

(1) All laws in force in the territory of India;

(2) All public Acts passed or hereafter to be passed by Parliament of the United Kingdom, and all local and personal Acts directed by Parliament of the United Kingdom to be judicially noticed;

(3) Articles of War for the Indian Army, Navy or Air Force;

(4) The course of proceeding of Parliament of the United Kingdom, of the Constituent Assembly of India, of Parliament and of the legislatures established under any laws for the time being in force in a Province or in the States;

(5) The accession and the sign manual of the Sovereign for the time being of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland;

(6) All seals of which English Courts take judicial notice: the seals of all the Courts in India and of all Courts out of India established by the authority of the Central Government or the Crown Representative: the seals of Courts of Admiralty and Maritime Jurisdiction and of Notaries Public, and all seals which any person is authorised to use by the Constitution or an Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom or an Act or Regulation having the force of law in India;

(7) The accession to office, names, titles, functions and signatures of the persons filling for the time being any public office in any State, if the fact of their appointment to such office is notified in any Official Gazette;

(8) The existence, title, and national flag of every State or Sovereign recognized by the Government of India:

(9) The divisions of time, the geographical divisions of the world, and public festivals, fasts and holidays notified in the Official Gazette;

(10) The territories under the dominion of the Government of India;

(11) The commencement, continuance and termination of hostilities between the Government of India and any other State or body of persons;

(12) The names of the members and officers of the Court, and of their deputies and subordinate officers and assistants, and also of all officers acting in execution of its process, and of all advocates, attorneys, proctors, vakils, pleaders and other persons authorized by law to appear or act before it;

(13) The rule of the road on land or at sea.

In all these cases, and also on all matters of public history, literature, science or art, the Court may resort for its aid to appropriate books or documents of reference.

If the Court is called upon by any person to take judicial notice of any fact, it may refuse to do so unless and until such person produces any such book or document as it may consider necessary to enable it to do so.

Section 58: Facts admitted need not be proved—

No fact need be proved in any proceeding which the parties thereto or their agents agree to admit at the hearing, or which, before the hearing, they agree to admit by any writing under their hands, or which by any rule of pleading in force at the time they are deemed to have admitted by their pleadings:

Provided that the Court may, in its discretion, require the facts admitted to be proved otherwise than by such admissions.

IMPORTANT CASE LAWS

1. Judicially Noticeable Fact :

Madho Singh v. State, A.I.R 1978 Pat. 172 : “….Judges cannot and do not sit within ‘ivory towers’. Not to take notice of matters which are notorious is to shut our eyes in the face of reality. It is true that Judges cannot act on their own private knowledge or belief regarding the facts of a particular case, but they are entitled to use the knowledge of common affairs of life, which men of ordinary intelligence possess. There are matters which are so notorious or clearly established that evidence of their existence is unnecessary. Speaking of this State (and that is what is relevant), I have no doubt, that the usufruct derived by usufructuary mortgagees of agricultural lands is at least twice (and in many cases even thrice) the legally permissible rate of interest for secured creditors..……”