Relevancy Of Character In Civil Cases

RELEVANCY OF CHARACTER IN CIVIL CASES

FINAL DRAFT OF EVIDENCE LAW

SUBMITTED TO: Dr. P.K.V. Sita Rama Rao

SUBMITTED BY:
Saumya Kumar Singh
ROLL NO.—1561
SEMESTER- 4TH
B.A. L.L.B. (Hons.)
SESSION: 2016-2021

CHANAKYA NATIONAL LAW UNIVERSITY, PATNA

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Relevancy Of Character In Civil Cases

TABLE OF CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT…………………………………………………………………….3

HYPOTHESIS………………………………………………………………………………...4

INTRODUCTION…………………………………………………………………………….5

RELEVANCY OF CHARACTER IN CIVIL CASES………………………………………..9

CHARACTER EVIDENCE IN CIVIL AND CRIMINAL CASES………………………….16

PREJUDICE ON CHARACTER…………………………………………………………….20

CONLUSION…………………………………………………………………………………22

BIBLIOGRAPHY…………………………………………………………………………….23

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Relevancy Of Character In Civil Cases

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

I would like to thank my faculty, Dr. P.K.V. Sita Rama Rao, whose assignment of such a relevant
and interesting topic made me work towards knowing the subject with a greater interest and
enthusiasm and moreover he guided me throughout the project.

I owe the present accomplishment of my project to my friends, who helped me immensely with
sources of research materials throughout the project and without whom I couldn’t have completed
it in the present way.

I would also like to thank the library staff for working long hours to facilitate us with required
material going a long way in quenching our thirst for education.

I would also like to extend my gratitude to my parents and all those unseen hands that helped me
out at every stage of my project.

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Relevancy Of Character In Civil Cases

HYPOTHESIS

The researcher believes that character of a person should not be considered in civil cases per se,
until and unless it’s needed because it creates ambiguity in the case and is also open to prejudice.

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Relevancy Of Character In Civil Cases

CHAPTER-1
INTRODUCTION

The Indian Evidence Act is very unique in nature. This is because it was introduced more than a
century ago. The mere fact that it was introduced so many years ago does not make it unique, it is
unique because in such a long time it has not been amended many times. To stay unchanged for
such a long time is a very special achievement indeed because it is not considered obsolete by any
means. It was introduced by Sir James Stephen who was vested with this responsibility back in the
year 1871. The Indian Evidence is very important for our country. This is because our country
follows the Due Process Model, which opposite of the crime control model where the police and
court play an active role in solving the veracity of the allegations made.

In the Due Process Model it is the parties of the suit on whom the burden of proof is vested. Thus
it is very important to have a guideline for the submission of evidence. In the later section of the
project it will be seen how important role the Evidence Act plays in our justice system. The Act
not only regulates the procedure for the admission of the evidence it also looks after which
evidence will not be admissible under Indian Evidence Act. 1 The fact that India follows the due
process model means that theoretically the discretionary powers of the judge is very large. To
prevent the judge from being arbitrary in nature while admitting evidence of a case, it is imperative
that the judge is made subject to a standard set of guidelines which is to be followed across the
board. This fact of denying the judge the misuse of his discretionary powers is all the more
important in the present times when corruption is rampant in our country. This Indian Evidence
Act is objectively used to give true justice and so that corrupt elements cannot subvert the justice
system.2 A very important fact also that needs to be brought to the forefront is that the Indian
Evidence Act deals with two important terms that are, evidence and admissibility. The
admissibility has not been defined but it is based on the factor of relevancy which has been
defined.3

1
WIGMORE ON EVIDENCE, 135.
2
WEBSTER ON EVIDENCE.
3
WOODROFFE AND AMEER ALI’S EVIDENCE, 10TH EDITION., VOLUME II , P. 718

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Relevancy Of Character In Civil Cases

Character evidence and the Role it plays in Courts-

“The business of the court is to try the case and not the man; and a very bad man may have a very
righteous cause.”4

What is Character?
The aggregate of the moral qualities which belong to and distinguish an individual person; the
general result of the-one’s distinguishing attributes. That moral predisposition or habit, or
aggregate of ethical qualities, which is believed to attach to a person, on the strength of the
common opinion and report concerning him.5
The character and conduct of people play a very important role in our day to day lives, people act
and react and go about their daily lives based on their assumptions of what other people will do.
Thus, when a court is asked to judge a person’s conduct on a particular occasion it may become
pertinent to question the person’s conduct.
Character evidence plays an important role in almost all jurisdictions. The character of persons has
been used in order to determine guilt for centuries. Over the years the law has evolved and the
applicability of character evidence to civil and criminal cases has become limited. The character
sought to be proved, may be of the parties to the proceedings, the witnesses or even third parties.

While talking about character evidence, there are two important questions to be asked, firstly,
whether the character of a person is relevant, and if relevant under what circumstances they become
so relevant. The second question to be asked is when such character becomes relevant, how it is to
be proved.6

Extracts of the sections in the Indian Evidence Act, 1872 are:7

In civil cases character to prove conduct imputed irrelevant – Section 52 of Indian Evidence Act,
1872.

4
WIGMORE ON EVIDENCE.
5
Black’s Law Dictionary.
6
BEST ON EVIDENCE 8TH EDITION.
7
www.indiankanoon.org

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Relevancy Of Character In Civil Cases

In civil cases, the fact that the character of any person concerned is such as to render probable or
improbable any conduct imputed to him is irrelevant except in so far as such character appears
from facts otherwise relevant.8

In criminal cases, previous good character relevant – Section 53 of The Indian Evidence Act, 1872.
In criminal proceedings the fact that the person accused is of good character, is relevant.

Previous bad character not relevant except in reply – Section 54 of The Indian Evidence Act, 1872
In criminal proceedings the fact that the accused person had a bad character is irrelevant, unless
evidence has been given that he has a character in which case it becomes relevant.

Character as affecting damages – Section 55 of The Indian Evidence Act, 1872

In civil cases, the fact that the character of any person is such as to affect the amount of damages
which he ought to receive is relevant.

Explanation - In Section 52, 53, 54 and 55, the word "character" includes both reputation and
disposition; but except as provided in Section 54, evidence may be given only a general reputation
and general disposition and not of particular acts by which reputation or disposition was shown.9

English Law does not have a single, well defined technical meaning for character, it is however
understood to include both disposition as well as reputation. Similarly the Indian Evidence Act,
under the explanation to Section 55 makes a feeble attempt to explain the meaning of character, it
merely states that the word ‘character’ includes both disposition as well as reputation. However
disposition and reputation are not the same thing.10

Disposition of a person is what he actually is, it means a person’s entire character or “the sum of
inherited and acquired ethical traits which gives a man his individuality," sometimes character may
also mean a single trait such as honesty, chastity etc.11

8
Indian Evidence Act. § 52 (1872).
9
www.indiankanoon.org
10
www.lawnotes.in
11
www.lawteacher.net

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Relevancy Of Character In Civil Cases

Reputation on the other hand is the community opinion as to what a person is supposed to be. It
should be noted that in law, reputation is the chief means of proving a person’s character. Evidence
of the general reputation of a person affords the basis for an inference as to the actual character.
However the words character and reputation are used synonymously.12

Evidence Should Relate to Specific Traits:

Needless to mention, any evidence of reputation must be confined to the particular traits which the
charge involves. Thus, if a person is charged for cruelty, evidence of his honesty would be of no
value. However, if he is charged for theft, his reputation for honesty would be relevant.13

Related Cases-

 Guntaka Hussenaiah Vs Busetti Yerraiah-14

Andhra Pradesh High Court said that the Section 52 deals with the relevancy of character
evidence in civil cases. The character of a party to a civil suite cannot be relevant to the
decision of an issue arising in that suite. But this section has no bearing on a case where the
veracity of a witness is in question.

 Abdul Shakur and others Vs Kotwaleshwar Prasad and others-15

Allahabad High Court held that where the contention that certain pronotes had been obtained
from the insolvent while he was under the influence of drink, has been found to be baseless.
Mere general bad character of the insolvent would be quite irrelevant in a civil case to prove
want of consideration.

12
www.lawteacher.net
13
www.legallyindia.in
14
AIR 1954 AP 39.
15
AIR 1958 All 54.

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Relevancy Of Character In Civil Cases

CHAPTER-2

RELEVANCY OF CHARACTER IN CIVIL CASES

Section 52 of The Indian Evidence Act,1872- In civil cases character to prove conduct
imputed, irrelevant —In civil cases, the fact that the character of any person concerned is such
as to render probable or improbable any conduct imputed to him, is irrelevant, except in so far as
such character appears from facts otherwise relevant.16
Section 55 of The Indian Evidence Act,1872- Character as affecting damages —In civil cases,
the fact that the character of any person is such as to affect the amount of damages which he ought
to receive, is relevant.17

Explanation—In Sections 52, 53, 54 and 55, the word “character” includes both reputation and
disposition; but except as provided in Section 54, evidence may be given only of general reputation
and general disposition, and not of particular acts by which reputation or disposition were shown.

These two Sections of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872, determine the relevancy of character in civil
cases. However, there are certain exceptions to the general rule.

2.1 Principle of Section 52-18

Section 52 lays down the general rule that the evidence of character of a person in civil case is not
relevant unless the character itself is issue. The reason is that the court is to try the case on the
basis of facts not on the basis of ‘good’ or ‘bad’ character of the parties. It was remarked, “the
business of the court is to try the case and not the man, and a very bad man may have a very
righteous cause.”—Wigmore

If character is considered in civil cases it might create ambiguity in the cases. Civil liability is
exclusively measured by the magnitude of the harm alone. In civil case, the previous convictions
of the defendant are irrelevant.

16
The Indian Evidence Act,1872.
17
Ibid.
18
BEST ON EVIDENCE 8TH EDITION.

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Relevancy Of Character In Civil Cases

Thus the general principle is that a party cannot give evidence of his good character for the purpose
of showing that it is unlikely that he should be guilty of the conduct charged to him.19

This principle was laid down in the year 1791 in Attorney General v. Bowman20, where the
defendant was tried in a penal action, not a criminal prosecution, for keeping false weights and for
offering to corrupt an officer. He called a witness to testify that he was a man of good character
and conduct.

But the Court refused to admit the evidence as it was a civil suit.

2.2 Principle of Section 55-

Section 55 is an exception to Section 52.

Section 55 lays down that,—(i) it is applicable only in a suit for damages, (ii) the character of the
plaintiff only is relevant and (iii) such character of the plaintiff is relevant only as to affect the
amount of damages to be awarded to the plaintiff.

Iluustration- In case of adultery the plaintiff’s bad character may be proved; in case of divorce
the husband’s cruel character is relevant. Similarly, in case of breach of promise of marriage the
plaintiff’s character being immoral may be relevant. Thus the plaintiff’s bad character in case of
adultery, husband’s cruel character in divorce case or plaintiff’s immoral character in breach of
promise of marriage would affect the amount of damages.

While evidence of bad character of the plaintiff may be given in order to mitigate the extent of
damages, evidence of good character may not be given in order to increase the extent of liability.
This is mostly used in cases of defamation when a person causes injury to another’s reputation and
damages are calculated on the basis of the person’s character.21

19
www.legalbites.in
20
(1791) 2 Bos. & P.532 : 126 E.R. 1423.
21
www.srdlawnotes.com

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In the case of Scott V. Sampson22, held that the word ‘character’ for this purpose is taken to mean
a man’s reputation, and the evidence of character was required to be confined only to “general
evidence of reputation”.

Lord Dennings in Plato Films Ltd v Spidel,23 stated that Evidence of a person’s good or bad
character can be given only by those who know him and have had dealings with him, for his
character is the esteem in which he is held by others who know him, and are in a position to judge
his worth.

 Bhagvan Sawarup V. State of Maharashtra-24

Supreme Court held that character evidence is very weak evidence, it cannot outweigh positive
evidence in regard to the guilt of the person. Character will necessarily vary according to
circumstances of each case.

 D.Shastri Vs. K.B.Sahay-25

Patna High Court held that in civil cases, where the question of amount of damages to be awarded
to the plaintiff is concerned, that a character of a plaintiff becomes relevant.

2.3 Exceptions to the general rule: There are exceptions to the rule that character is irrelevant
unless it is in issue-26

1. When character is in issue. Evidence can be given when a party’s character is itself a fact in
issue. For example, a suit for libel or a divorce suit.

2. Character as to affect damages. When the character of any person is such as to affect the amount
of damages which he ought to receive, is relevant. In mitigating damages the evidence of character
is relevant. (Section 55)

22
(1882) 8 QBD 49
23
(1961) A.C. 1090 at p.1137
24
AIR 1965 SC 682.
25
1969 AIR 258.
26
HALSBURY ON EVIDENCE 4TH EDITION.

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2.4 Character as fact in Issue-

Whether or not character is a fact in issue depends on the facts of the case. In defamation cases for
instance, the character of the plaintiff becomes a fact in issue. When the plaintiff alleges that the
defendant has defamed him and damaged his character, the plaintiff’s character becomes a fact in
issue as the plaintiff has to prove what his character was before the defamation, and how this act
of libel or slander has affected his reputation.27

In the case of Raghu Nath Pandey v. Bobby Bedi28 the producer of a movie ‘Mangal Pandey’ based
on the life of a freedom fighter by the same name, was sued by the family members of Mangal
Pandey, on the grounds that the depiction of his character as a drunkard having illicit relationships
with prostitutes effected his reputation and that of his family members. The makers of the movie
asserted that what they depicted was true and that they had reached the conclusion based on
research. Thus the court had to look into historical texts and determine his reputation.

B. Vasanthi v. Bakthavatchalu29 a case dealing with the custody of the minor children of the
divorced parents, the wife asserted that the husband was of bad character as he had illicit affairs
with several women whom he brought home, she alleged that he was a habitual drinker and that
he beat the children while he was intoxicated, and it was also stated that he had discontinued their
daughter’s education.

The husband on the other hand while denying these allegations, claimed that the wife was a bad
influence on the children as she often threatened to commit suicide before them, she was also said
to be indifferent towards the children, he also claimed that she used to have illicit relations with
another man, who visited her at home frequently. He alleged that she prevented the daughter from
going to school in order to make her deliver letters to her paramour.

27
Batuk Lal, The Law of Evidence (20th, Central Law Agency, 2013) 9.
28
AIR 1957 SC 747.
29
AIR 1993 Mad 322.

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Thus in this case, the characters of both the plaintiff and the defendant are facts in issue as it is
important to determine the character of the parents in order to decide who had the best interests of
the children in mind.

The Supreme Court while interpreting Section 6(a) of the Hindu Guardianship and Minority Act,
1956 in Geeta Hariharan vs. Reserve Bank of India30 stated that if it could be showed that the
father of the child was indifferent to the child then the mother would become the natural guardian.
Thus again the character of the father will become a fact in issue as the guardianship of the child
will depend on the indifference of the father.

Similarly in the English case of Hurst v. Evans31 an insurance company was sued in order to collect
money from an insurance policy. The insurance company contended that the loss was a result of
the plaintiff’s servant’s dishonesty. Thus the court held that the honesty of the servant was a fact
in issue and as such evidence was allowed in order to show that he was a person of questionable
character as he was always found in the company burglars and that he had entered the house with
the help of a false reference letter. This is also an example of how the character of a third party to
the suit becomes a fact in issue.

Illustration 1- Divorce cases

Husband filed a divorce case on the ground of unchastity. He produced evidence which shows
general immoral character of wife. The question is whether the woman is immoral in character or
not. Here the fact in issue is or the essence of the court is that the character of the woman.

If the character is itself in issue then wife should be allowed to produce evidence to show her good
character. And also husband should be allowed to produce character of wife.

Illustration 2- Defamation cases

It is not action per se. In defamation cases the party has to prove that his reputation has been
damaged due to such statement. This is the case where character will be considered.

Illustration 3- Maintenance Cases-

30
AIR 1999 2 SCC 228.
31
854 P. 2d 1270.

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Wife filed maintenance suit against husband. He claimed that his wife is of bad character and that
she has already started living in a live-in relationship with another person and she has she has
sufficient means to maintain herself. She wants to grab more money from husband. Here husband
has a right to produce evidence against her character.

2.5 When Character becomes Relevant (Section 55)-

When character of a person is not a fact in issue, it may still be a relevant fact and as per section
52 of the Indian Evidence Act, it would be admissible. Various English cases have also held that
character evidence would be admissible if it could be shown that it was relevant.

In suits for damages for example, though character may not be a fact in issue it is still a relevant
fact that may be considered in order to mitigate the extent of damages. Therefore, in suits for
damages against defamation, breach of promise to marry, seduction, adultery etc. evidence of
character is admissible in both English law as well as Indian law.32

Section 55 of the Indian Evidence Act, specifically states that if the character of a person is to
affect the amount of damages he should receive then evidence of character becomes relevant.
While evidence of bad character of the plaintiff may be given in order to mitigate the extent of
damages, evidence of good character may not be given in order to increase the extent of liability.

Similarly in cases of guardianship, the character of the proposed guardian becomes relevant.
Section 10(1) of the Guardians and Wards Act, states that the qualifications of the proposed
guardian should be stated in the application itself and that no guardian can be appointed without
an enquiry into his fitness for the job. This has been interpreted to mean that where a court appoint
a man as guardian without inquiring into his character and fitness such a procedure will be declared
irregular.33

2.6 Character Evidence and Veracity of Witness-

Character evidence can also be used in order to shake the veracity of the witnesses. A witness is
supposed to be truthful and possess the disposition to tell the truth. Normally, the honesty of a

32
Bhima Shaw v. State of Orissa, AIR 1956 Ori 177.
33
Kamal Kanto vs State AIR 1959 Cal 342.

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witness is presumed and the witness is not allowed to adduce evidence of his good behavior until
his character is attacked. Both English law and Indian law allow for the questioning of a witnesses’
character during cross examination. As per section 142 of the Indian Evidence Act, the witness
may be cross examined in a manner as to impeach his credit by injuring his character. This may
be done even in cases where character evidence is not relevant to decide the outcome of a case.34

While attacking the witnesses character, evidence adduced must be pertinent to his veracity to tell
the truth, as the object is to ascertain the witnesses character as an honest person.35

34
www.srdlawnotes.com
35
Lakmandas v. State AIR 1968 Bom 400.

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CHAPTER-3

CHARACTER EVIDENCE IN CIVIL AND CRIMINAL CASES

 In Civil Cases-

In civil cases character to prove conduct imputed, irrelevant (Section 52)- Section 52 of the Indian
Evidence Act is itself in issue. In civil proceedings, the evidence of good character or bad character
is not going to help the court in deciding the matters in issue.

Section 52 runs as follows: In civil cases, the fact that the character of any person concerned is
such as to render probable or improbably any conduct imputed to him, is irrelevant except in so
far as such character appears from facts otherwise relevant.

In civil proceeding good or bad character is not relevant. e.g. In a suit filed by landlord against a
tenant for recovery of the premises on ground of default of payment of rent, if tenant argued that
he is religious person and hence the suit be dismissed. His character is irrelevant and the Court
will pass eviction order against him, on the ground of default.36

 In Criminal Cases-

In criminal cases previous good character relevant. Section 53 - According to section 53 of the
Evidence Act, in criminal proceedings, the fact that the person accused is, of a good character, is
relevant. The innocence or criminality of an accused can easily be judged by basing on his
character.
Every accused person is at liberty to give evidence of the fact that he is man of good character.
The expression, "Good Character" has of course is known significance in relation to evidence upon
criminal trials for it denote a description of evidence in disproof of the guilt which an accused
person may adduce.

36
BEST ON EVIDENCE 8TH EDITION.

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Supreme Court in Habib Mohammad v. State of Hyderabad,37 said that in criminal proceeding a
character of a man is often a matter of importance in explaining his conduct and in judging his
innocence or criminality.

Evidence of character or previous sexual experience not relevant in certain cases, Section 53A-

In a prosecution for an offence under section 354, section 354A, section 354B, section 354C,
section 354D, section 376, section 376A, section 376B, section 376C, section 376D or section
376E of the Indian Penal Code (45 of 1860) or for attempt to commit any such offence, where the
question of consent is in issue, evidence of the character of the victim or of such person's previous
sexual experience with any person shall not be relevant on the issue of such consent or the quality
of consent.

Section 54: Previous bad character not relevant, except in reply —In criminal proceedings the fact
that the accused person has a bad character is irrelevant, unless evidence has been given, that he
has a good character, in which case it become relevant.

Explanation 1—This section does not apply to cases in which the bad character of any person is
itself a fact in issue.
Explanation 2—A previous conviction is relevant as evidence of bad character.38

When the character of a person is the fact in issue, proof of general character may be received in
both civil and criminal cases, however when the character is not a fact in issue, but is instead used
as circumstantial evidence to prove other material issues, then it is allowed only in criminal cases,
and under certain circumstances in civil law.39

This is true of both English law as well as Indian law, Section 52 of the Indian Evidence Act makes
it clear that evidence of character to prove conduct imputed is irrelevant unless it appears from the
facts to be otherwise relevant. Thus the test for admissibility is relevance.40

37
AIR 1954 SC 59.
38
BEST ON EVIDENCE 8TH EDITION.
39
HALSBURY ON EVIDENCE 4TH EDITION.
40
Batuk Lal, The Law of Evidence (20th, Central Law Agency, 2013) 9.

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The same is applicable to English Law. This was first explained in Attorney General v. Radloff
41
where it was observed that in criminal cases, evidence of the accused’s good character was
admissible as there was a just presumption that a person of good character would not commit a
crime. It was further stated that in civil cases, such a presumption would not arise as the nature of
the offences was such that they had nothing to do with character. In subsequent English cases as
well it was held that character of the accused was relevant in criminal cases and irrelevant in civil
cases.

Most civil cases deal with contracts, or promissory notes etc. which are not matters that involve
reckless wrongdoing, or morally reprehensive conduct, in a majority of cases, the subject matter
is irrelevant to the character of persons so it is never accepted as evidence. Character evidence is
thus accepted only in situations where the facts show that it is relevant.42

Though the test appears to be relevancy, there are several civil cases where the character of a
person becomes relevant and yet character evidence is excluded. For example in tortuous claim
against assault or negligence, the good character of the defendant would be relevant, yet character
evidence is not accepted in tortuous claims while it is accepted in criminal actions for the same
offences of assault or negligence.43

Similarly, in quasi criminal cases, where features belonging to classes of action can be found, civil
courts do not entertain character evidence even if it could be accepted in a criminal court for the
same offence. Likewise it is seen that when criminal charges are involved in a civil suit character
evidence is not admissible.44

One of the reasons for this in both India as well as England is stated to be a policy decision in order
to restrain civil proceedings within manageable limits and prevent protracted legal proceedings. It
is said that such a move has been made in order to prevent unfairness to civil litigants as they
cannot be expected, to protect themselves against allegations of bad character which may range
over their whole life.45

41
2004 (1) BLR 21.
42
www.legalindia.com
43
www.legalcrystal.com
44
www.myadvo.in
45
www.advocatekhoj.com

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However this reasoning should hold good for criminal cases as well, as character evidence in
criminal cases may also involve imputations which may range throughout one’s life. The reason
for allowing for character evidence, here may be because of the fact that the repercussions of a
criminal trial are different from that of a civil case. Criminal cases involve the possibility of
imprisonment.46 For example, the Indian Penal Code provides imprisonment of three months for
assault without grave and sudden provocation. While a tortious claim against assault will only
result in damages. This might be one of the reasons behind admitting character evidence in criminal
cases.47

46
WOODROFFE AND AMEER ALI’S EVIDENCE, 10TH EDITION. VOLUME II.
47
www.law.indiana.edu

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CHAPTER-4
PREJUDICE ON CHARACTER

While we have determined the circumstances under which character evidence is admissible, what
remains to be seen is the manner in which it is appreciated. Whether it is possible to evaluate
character objectively without being biased.

 Gender Biases

Earlier English cases refused to grant custody of children to the mother accused of adultery, while
an exception was made in cases where the father was guilty of the same offence. It was believed
that mothers accused of adultery were not were not of good character and were hence unfit to raise
children. This view was changed over time, and it was held that parents accused of adultery will
not be deprived of the custody of the child. It was held that adultery would have no bearing on the
welfare of the child. While gender had nothing to do with the offence of adultery, women were
considered to be of worse character than men and thus they were not given their rights. 48

 Racial Biases

In the case of Portnoy v. Strasser49 where the custody of the children was contested between the
natural mother and the grandmother, the court awarded custody to the grandmother on the grounds
that the natural mother was of questionable character having remarried a man of a different race.
This perception was later changed many years later where the U.S Supreme Court held that such
prejudices should not creep into decision making.

We can see that even though race could not have had an impact on the welfare of the child, the
judges bias against a particular race made him perceive the woman to be of a bad character.

48
WOODROFFE AND AMEER ALI’S EVIDENCE, 10TH EDITION. VOLUME II.
49
303 N.Y. 539.

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 Religious Biases

In several other cases, religion has operated as a bias. For example in the case of A.B. v.
C.B.50where the mother of an illegitimate child sought to revoke consent for the adoption of the
child, the court looked at the religious sensibilities of the parties to determine their character. It
was held that the mother of the child was not a practicing catholic and that she herself was an
illegitimate child. The adoptive parents on the other hand were perceived to be of good character
as they were practicing Roman Catholics, and hence custody was granted to the adoptive parents
using the best interest principle.

Similarly in another English case, Helen Skinner v. Sophia Evelina Orde,51 where an English lady
residing in India, who lost her husband during the sepoy mutinies of 1857, sought to convert to
Islam in order to become the second wife of an Indian Muslim man, her conversion was deemed
to be immoral and the custody of the child was taken away from the mother. Distrust towards
another religion and the coloured views of the judge on religion lead to the branding of the woman
as a person of bad character.

50
278 A.D. 942 (1951).
51
(1894) A.C. 57.

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CONCUSION

Through this paper it is clear that limiting the circumstances under which character evidence may
be introduced in civil cases is a step in the right direction. Hence, the hypothesis taken by the
researcher is true. The last section shows that it is difficult to appreciate character evidence
objectively as one’s views in society will always be coloured by the trends prevalent in society at
that given time. This leads to situations wherein a person having a good case on all other fronts
losing because society at that point in time perceives him to be of bad character.

We cannot however completely do away with character evidence in civil cases as there are several
instances where the character of a person itself becomes a fact in issue. In such situations character
will have to be looked into. However while dealing with these cases the courts should be aware of
the prejudices that exist in society and tread carefully.

It was observed that character evidence may be adduced in two forms: either as evidence of
character per se, or as evidence to resolve another issue in determination. An example of the former
is to emphasize the good nature of a respectable man in society, thereby imputing improbability
of commission of an offence by him. While evidence of this kind is normally admissible, character
evidence per se which projects the accused in bad light is inadmissible. Bad character of the
accused/defendant may be adduced in rebuttal when he/she adduces his/her good character. It may
also be introduced when the character itself is in issue, or for the determination of damages.

It is thus possible to divide the above situations in two categories: first, in which resolving the
character question is not important, and the second in which character evidence is pertinent for the
disposal of case, The crucial distinction lies in the relevance of the latter and the irrelevance of the
former as facts presented before the Court. The example quoted above, along with the first
exception, falls in the first category, while the remaining four fall in the second category. Based
on this categorization, it is possible to conclude that whenever evidence is adduced to prove only
the bad character of the accused, it is inadmissible, subject to one exception, of admissibility in
rebuttal. All other scenarios grant the status of relevance to evidence of bad character, either as the
substance in issue directly, or as incidental to another relevant fact. Such evidence is not evidence
of character, as much as evidence to resolve the issues at hand. Thus, when bad character evidence
proves something more than just character, it is admissible.

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Relevancy Of Character In Civil Cases

BIBLIOGRAPGHY

BOOKS-

 Woodroffe and Ameer Ali’s Evidence, 10th Edition, Vol. II

 Best On Evidence, 8th Edition.
 Halsbury on Evidence, 4th Edition.
 Monir M., Law Of Evidence, 17th Edition, Vol. II
 Batuk Lal, The Law of Evidence (20th, Central Law Agency, 2013.

WEBSITES-

www.law.indiana.edu

www.legalindia.com

www.legalcrystal.com
www.myadvo.in
www.advocatekhoj.com

www.srdlawnotes.com

www.lawteacher.net

www.indiankanoon.org

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