EVIDENCE LAW 1

1. SECTION 7 OF EA 1950
• Scope and Application of Section 7 of the Evidence Act
1950
• Section 7: Facts which are the occasion, cause or effect of
facts in issue. “Facts which are the occasion, cause or effect,
immediate or otherwise, of relevant facts or facts in issue, or
which constitute the state of things under which they happened
or which afforded an opportunity for their occurrence or
transaction, are relevant”.
• Fakta – fakta yang menjadi hal kejadian, sebab atau kesan,
sama ada langsung atau selainnya, bagi fakta relevan atau
fakta isu, atau yang menjadi keadaan benda dalam mana fakta
itu berlaku atau, yang memberi peluang untuk fakta itu berlaku
atau dilakukan.

3. SECTION 7 OF EA 1950
• Scope and Application of Section 7 of the Evidence Act
1950
• Illustrations (a) The question is whether A robbed B. The facts
that shortly before the robbery, B went to a fair with money in
his possession and that he showed or mentioned the fact that
he had it to third persons are relevant.
• Soalnya ialah sama ada A telah merompak B. fakta bahawa
sejurus sebelum rompakan itu berlaku B telah pergi ke suatu
pasaria dengan membawa wang dan bahawa dia telah
menunjukan kepada orang lain atau menyebut yang dia ada
wang adalah relevan.

4. SECTION 7 OF EA 1950
• Scope and Application of Section 7 of the Evidence
Act 1950
• (b) The question is whether A murdered B. Marks on
the ground produced by a struggle at or near the place
where the murder was committed are relevant facts.
• Soalnya ialah sama ada A telah membunuh B. Tanda-
tanda atas tanah yang disebabkan oleh sesuatu
pergelutan pada atau dekat dengan tempat di mana
pembunuhan itu telah dilakukan adalah fakta relevan.

5. SECTION 7 OF EA 1950
• Scope and Application of Section 7 of the Evidence Act 1950
• (c) The question is whether A poisoned B. The state of B?s
health before the symptoms ascribed to poison and habits of B
known to A, which afforded an opportunity for the
administration of poison, are relevant facts.
• Soalnya ialah sama ada A telah meracun B. Keadaan kesihatan
B sebelum ada gejala-gejala kena racun dan tabiat B yang
diketahui oleh A yang memberi peluang untuk meracun B
adalah fakta relevan.

6. SECTION 7 OF EA 1950
• Scope and Application of Section 7 of the Evidence Act
1950
• Generally, section 7 is an extension of section 6 which is
connected to the doctrine of res gestae. However,
according to Augustine Paul, section 7 has no connection
to section 6. This view may be based on the reason that the
facts in section 7 do not form part of the same transaction.
Although the facts under section 7 do not form part of the
same transaction, they are closely linked with the facts in
issue. These can be considered as relevant facts. This
shows that section 7 is wider in nature than section 6. The
relevancy of the facts in section 7 can be clarified through
the human experience. It means that whatever effect of the
particular cause or what has been the constant cause of the
particular effect in the past will be the same in the future.

7. SECTION 7 OF EA 1950
• Scope of section 7
• The facts in section 7 of the Evidence Act 1950 can be treated as relevant facts
on the following five grounds:
• 1. Facts as Being the Occasion of the Relevant Facts or Facts in Issue. This
refers to the facts that show the circumstances which constituted the occasion
for the happening of the fact in issue.
• For example, see illustration (a) of section 7. It states that when B has money
and mentioned to third persons or showed that money and later, was robbed on
the occasion of a certain fair, he was able to show that he had the money with
him. Otherwise, there would be no occasion to rob him. Another example is that
on the day the murder happened, the suspect went to stay with his victim or the
deceased who was alone in his home at the material time.
• For instance, in Jainand v. R [1949] AIR 60, the deceased and his family stayed
with the accused at his house for the purpose of getting treatment for his wife.
The victim’s wife handed over her ornaments (stuff) to the accused for safe
custody. The accused took all the money to allegedly purchase a truck but never
purchased any such truck. This led to a quarrel between the accused and the
deceased. The deceased then left the house of the accused with all his
belongings. The deceased continued visiting the accused to demand the return of
his money. The accused promised to return it on a particular date. On that
particular day, the deceased went to the accused’s house where he killed him.
This fact was held to be relevant under section 7 of the Evidence Act 1950 for
showing facts on the occasion and cause of the murder. Per Bhargava J at 299:
“The fact in issue was whether Jainand had committed the murder of Karan
Singh. The facts that Jainand had taken money and ornaments from Karan Singh
and had on the day of murder gone to Jainand to demand the money and
ornaments are relevant facts showing occasion, cause or effect of the fact in
issue.”

8. SECTION 7 OF EA 1950
• Scope of section 7
• The facts in section 7 of the Evidence
Act 1950 can be treated as relevant
facts on the following five grounds:
• 2. Facts Showing Cause of the
Principal Facts. Cause is defined as
something that constitutes the event.
In Saw Thean Theik v. R [1953] MLJ
124 where at the time of the accident,
the appellant was under the influence
of alcohol. The judge considered that
the evidence of intoxication was
relevant to an issue before the court.
The police report showed that the
evidence of intoxication was a
relevant fact showing the cause of the
accident.

9. SECTION 7 OF EA 1950
• Scope of section 7
• The facts in section 7 of the Evidence Act
1950 can be treated as relevant facts on the
following five grounds:
• 3. Facts as Being Their Effect. Effect
means everything that leaves behind a
certain result which not only records the
happening of the act but also clarifies the
nature of the act. For example,
fingerprints, marks, footsteps, etc, at the
place where the crime was committed or
the injuries of the accused caused by the
struggle or while being under the influence
of intoxication. For instance, in the case of
Yusuffali Esmail v. State of Maharashta
[1968] AIR 147 the court held that if the
conversation between the accused and the
complainant at the time of offering and
taking the bribe has been tape recorded
and the voice has been identified, then the
tape-recorded conversation may be
relevant under section 7 as forming the
effect of relevant facts.

10. SECTION 7 OF EA 1950
• Scope of section 7
• The facts in section 7 of the Evidence Act 1950 can be treated as
relevant facts on the following five grounds:
• 4. Facts Providing Opportunity for the Happening of the Fact in
Issue or Its Occurrence. Opportunity is anything which would not
have happened but for that cause. The prosecutor should show that the
accused has the chance to commit the crime. This may involve a break
in the normal routine of his life. The physical appearance at the event
also can strengthen the suspicion that the person did the act. However,
the opportunity should be exclusive (restricted/limited) in order to
constitute the relevant fact. If there is more than one person who has
the same opportunity, then other corroborated evidence should be
produced in order to support the contention that one of them is the real
culprit. However, the accused can provide the defence of alibi that at
the material time, he was elsewhere. It is necessary to produce the
witness or other means of proof that his contention is the truth. He can
also say that he was a mere bystander. Among the examples under this
heading are that the suspect had been seen at the place where the
murder happened or that the person had acted strangely at the place
before the robbery occurred.

11. SECTION 7 OF EA 1950
• For instance, in the murder case of Sidik Sumar v. Emperor
[1942] AIR SIND 1126 the accused struck the victim twice
with a sharp hatchet (cut) due to a long dispute between them
over a woman. The prosecution relied on the evidence of
footprints. The court held that the evidence of footprints at or
near the scene of the offence was relevant under section 7 to
show the facts constituting the effects of facts in issue. The
accused used the defence of alibi to show that he had no
opportunity to kill the victim. He claimed that at the time the
event happened, he was at one place to which he goes daily to
sell milk and only returned in the evening. However, three
witnesses heard noises of abuse before the accused struck the
victim, showing the opportunity which the accused and co-
accused had in waiting for their victim.

12. SECTION 7 OF EA 1950
• 5. Facts Constituting the State Of Things under Which the Fact in Issue
Happened. State of things is defined as the circumstances or background on
which the fact in issue happened. Usually, it encompasses the physical
condition connected with the main fact which happened. The examples can be
seen in the state of health, relationship between the parties involved or habits
of the person.
• From all these five grounds, we can see that each is connected with the
other. This connection can strengthen the allegation that the person
concerned is involved with the crime in question. The principle under
section 7 of the Evidence Act 1950 can also be seen in Australian cases:-
• In the case of PFD [2001] 124 ACR 418 the applicant and complainant had
been married. At the time of the event, the applicant was unemployed and
inclined (tend) to drinking alcohol. A quarrel developed between them when
the applicant returned home. The applicant pushed her from behind and
punched her in the head, as a result of which, she fell to the floor. The
applicant then kicked her face and stamped (pressed) on her head. The
complainant, who suffered a black eye, bloody nose and bruised ears, was
crying. When the complainant entered the room, he pushed her face forward
on the bed, pulled her pants down, grabbed her from behind and then
penetrated her anus with his penis. The assault continued for 10 to 15 minutes.
The applicant then stood up, dressed himself and left the room without saying
a word. The evidence of DNA proved that it belonged to the applicant. The
court held that where the applicant and the victim are in an ongoing
relationship with each other, the evidence of the nature of the relationship will
frequently be relevant to the issue in dispute, forming part of the state of
things.

13. SECTION 7 OF EA 1950
• Similarly, in Festa v. R [2001] 185 ACR 394, the accused
and co-accused were charged with the offence of armed
robbery. At the trial, the accused was found guilty. The
accused then appealed to the higher court. The court held
that the evidence of witnesses showed that the female
person whose behaviour was observed and described was
that of the appellant’s. They observed, and were able to
describe, a female's approximate age, size and general
physical appearance. They said she wore a wig. That was
particularly significant in the light of other evidence,
which included fingerprints of the appellant on a can of
wig and hair sheen, and a bottle of spirit gum, found in a
unit occupied by the co-accused, Renton, together with
wig stands and a set of instructions on the use of
disguises. The presence of the appellant near the bank at
the time it was robbed showed the occasion of the
relevant facts. The blood sample which was consistent
with the appellant being the offender showed the effect of
the facts in issue.

14. SECTION 7 OF EA 1950
• In a similar effect, in the case of
R.C. Clahoti v. Ashok Bhanji, the
girl was raped and murdered by
the accused. The accused was
shown to have been present near
the place of occurrence a little
before the probable time of
commission of the crime. This
proved the occasion of relevant
facts. Moreover, the accused had
two injuries which would have
been caused at or about the time
of the occurrence. The nature of
the injuries was such that they
were scratches by the victim
resisting the act of the accused.

15. SECTION 7 OF EA 1950
• Comparison between section 7 of the Evidence Act 1950 and the
Principle at Common Law
• There is no difference between section 7 of the Evidence Act 1950
and common law, where section 7 confirms the application of
common law. This can be seen in the case of R v. Richardson,
where Richardson was charged with the murder of the pregnant girl
at a cottage. She was found dead with her throat cut. The court held
that there was evidence of the footsteps of a person who had been
running away from the place of the incident. This shows the effect
subsequent to the event. At the time of the incident, the girl was in
the cottage and was found dead with her throat cut. The fact that
she was alone showed the occasion of relevant fact. There was a
witness, a girl, who saw a person who looked like the accused
running towards the cottage before the incident occurred. There was
also the fact affording the opportunity to commit the crime, where
the fellow of the servant of the accused said that the accused was
away from work for about an hour. The state of things that the girl
was pregnant also constituted a relevant fact to show that the
accused had knowledge about the matter and as to the motive of the
murder, in order to conceal the evidence, he murdered the deceased.