NEWS REPORTS AND ITS RELEVANCE

The relevancy is found on the basis of logic, human experience and its admissibility under law.
So the law rejects the facts which are relevant in ordinary life based on public policy, precedent,
etc. Relevance and admissibility are different under legal aspect, what is relevant may not be
admissible and what is admitted may not be relevant.1

The fact which does not logically support a fact will not be taken as a relevant and the fact that
which logically supports will not be rejected unless it is excluded by a clear ground of a policy or
a law.2

Relevance is defined under section3 of the Indian evidence act, 1872. It defines that any fact
which is related or connected to other fact in any of the ways specified under the act will be
taken as a relevant fact.

The conditions which it must satisfy are that there should be a connection between the produced
fact and the principal fact and it should not be too remote, it should not be based on guesswork, it
should not have been excluded by the state of pleadings, it should not have been rendered
unnecessary by admissions of the opposite party.3

News Paper when not Relevant:

News reports consist of the news which is nothing but the opinion of the writer. It has no
evidentiary value and it is not considered by the court. In G.K. Bajpayee v. State of U.P 4 case
the employee who was removed from services by his employer relying on the news that was
published in a newspaper. The court held that the matter published in the newspaper was just the
opinion of the writer and it cannot be considered as a relevant.

1 pg no: 257,258, Law of Evidence, Sir John Woodrofffe and Syed Amir Ali, 18th Edition, Volume 1,
Lexis Nexis

2 https://www.wcl.american.edu/sba/outline_databank/outlines/Evidence_Cook_1.pdf

3 pg no: 6, the law of evidence, Ratan Lal and Dhiraj Lal, 25 th edition, lexis nexis

4 AIR 2005 All 65

In Union of India v. Ranbir Singh Rathore and Ors 5 the court held that newspaper reports/
statement made by any officer could not be considered as evidence.

In Laxmi Raj Shetty v. State the court held that judicial notice cannot be taken based on facts in
a newspaper unless it is proved by other evidence6

A newspaper is of no value when it does not have any other witnesses. It is best second hand
evidence.

In S. Bangappa v. G.N. Hegde7 it was said that when a newspaper publishes news item and on
sole basis of it if a complaint was made, then the intention of the accused, the circumstances and
context in which the statement was made had to be taken into consideration including the
admissibility of the evidence. Without taking into consideration these aspects no action can be
taken.

In some cases newspapers are not taken as relevant evidence because mostly newspapers are
biased and they dont write the actual facts, they write out of their inclinations.8

News Paper when Relevant:

Newspapers are not considered as evidence, they are considered as evidence only when
genuineness was established.

In S.P. Anand v. Registrar General M.P. High Court case court held that a PIL cannot be
entertained solely on the basis of information which is published in a newspaper. But when the
chief justice or designated judge find outs that a person is deprived of his fundamental rights and
if he has no immediate access to the chief justice or designated judge in that case court has

5 (2006) 11 SCC 696

6 pg no: 3365, Law of Evidence, Sir John Woodrofffe and Syed Amir Ali, 18th Edition, Volume 1, Lexis
Nexis

7 1992 CriLJ. 3788 (Kant)

8 David Niven, Objective Evidence on Media Bias: Newspaper Coverage of Congressional Party
Switchers.
reason to believe that the information given in the newspaper is true then he can entertain a PIL
only on the basis of newspaper.

Under section 81 there is an assumption as to the news published by government owned

newspapers that they will publish correct state of affairs. 9 There must be an assumption that news
published by the government owned paper is correct until they are disproved successfully.10

The 69th law commission report has amended section 81, that the assumption of genuineness
under section 81 is for the documents published before 15th August, 1947 and the 185th Law
commission report agreed with it.11

In libel cases it can be used as evidence and the court considers it. Formerly in England the
courts not allowed the truth in the publication to be shown when they are made with malafide
intention and later they allowed. In cases contempt of court newspaper is considered as
evidence.12

The information published in a newspaper can be relevant but it may not be admissible.
For example when a newspaper prints information regarding an offence which is
connected with fact in issue but it may not be admitted by court as there is no other proof
which states the information as genuine.
The information published in a newspaper can be admissible but it may not be relevant as
the information provide in the newspaper is remotely connected with the fact in issue,
still court may admit it but it is not relevant because of its remoteness.

9 pg no: 1663, Law of Evidence, Sarkar, 17th Edition, Volume 1, Lexis Nexis.

10 R.S. Nayak v. A.R. Antulay, AIR 1986 SC 2045

11 185th Law Commission Report (http://lawcommissionofindia.nic.in/reports/185threport-partii.pdf)

12 Geoge D. Watrous, The Newspaper Before The Law, (http://digitalcommons.law.yale.edu/fss_papers)

REVIEW OF LITERATURE:

THE NEWSPAPER BEFORE THE LAW BY GEOGE D. WATROUS

In cases of libel court considers newspaper as evidence. In contempt of court cases when the
newspaper is interfering with the duty of the court newspaper is considered as evidence. In case
of publications which are against the government and are likely to affect the peace of state newspaper is
considered as evidence. If the publishing is made with good intention they were allowed the
newspaper itself is not the proof of their intention they have to prove it by other evidence.
Formerly in England the courts not used to allow the truth in the newspaper to be proved when
they are made with malafide intention and they allowed it later.

69TH LAW COMMISSION REPORT

which amended the section 81 restricting that the presumption under section 81 in respect of
London gazette and the government gazette of any colony which is either dependent or in
possession of British crown and a private act of the UK parliament which is printed by the
Queens printer must be only to the period before 15th August, 1947.

185th LAW COMMISSION REPORT

185th law commission agreed with the recommendation made by the 69 th law commission report
185th law commission has stated that the presumption is only about their genuineness but not
about the truth of their contents.
It also referred Binod Kumar Jain vs. Gauhati Municipal Corp 13 in which it was held that the
translated copy of a news item cannot be considered by the Court as a document in the absence
of the newspaper.

CASE ANALYSIS:

S.no Subject Indian Evidence Act, 1872

1. Case Title and Citation Laxmi Raj Shetty and Anr v. State of Tamil Nadu,
1988 AIR 1274
2. Topic Newspapers evidentiary value
3. Scope/ chapter Chapter V of Indian Evidence Act
4. Provisions of law Section 81 and 78(2) of Indian Evidence Act, 1872
5. Brief Facts of the case In this case the accused committed murder and
robbery in a bank. There is no direct evidence in this
case and is based on circumstantial evidence. The
question here was the newspapers have written that
the money was recovered from residence of his
father in Mangalore, but the prosecution story was
that the money was recovered from Madras.
6. Issues or Question of Law Can the court relay on information published in a
Involved newspaper
7. Judgment The court held that they cannot take judicial notice
of the news published in a newspaper. It is hearsay
secondary evidence and it is not one of the document
referred in section 78(2). The facts reported in a
newspaper cannot be treated as proved under the
presumption of genuineness under section 81.
8. Comment or Observation or Information published in a newspaper is a hearsay

13 (AIR 1994 Gauhati 96)

 Critical Analysis by Researcher evidence and judicial notice of the information
published in a newspaper cannot be taken.

S.no Subject Indian Evidence Act, 1872

1. Case Title and Citation Oommen Chandy v. State of Kerala,
2. Topic Newspapers evidentiary value
3. Scope/ chapter Chapter V of Indian Evidence Act
4. Provisions of law Indian Evidence Act, 1872
5. Brief Facts of the case The complainants in the present case are respondents
in other case in which they were facing corruption
charges. The present petition is based on the
statements made by respondent. 8 in the first
complaint before commission appointed by
government and media. She refused for cross
examination also.
6. Issues or Question of Law Can the information published in newspaper can be
Involved taken as evidence?
7. Judgment The lower court has taken the same as evidence
8. Grounds for appeal/ Additional The information published in a newspaper is hearsay
points and it cannot be taken as evidence
9. Judgment and Order The court held that the information published in a
newspaper is merely a hearsay evidence. It can be
taken when the person who has written it is having
personal knowledge about the information. So, it
cannot be taken
10. Comment or Observation or The news item in a newspaper is merely a hearsay
Critical Analysis by Researcher evidence and it cannot be taken as evidence unless
the writer has personal knowledge of the
information.
S.no Subject Indian Evidence Act, 1872
1. Case Title and Citation Dilip Chakraborthy and Anr v. Public Prosecutor and
Anr, 1976 CriLJ 1300
2. Topic Newspapers evidentiary value
3. Scope/ chapter Chapter V of Indian Evidence Act
4. Provisions of law Section 81 of the act
5. Brief Facts of the case The newspaper named Bangladesh published an
article named Bardhaman Zila Shasaker Kirti"
which contained defamatory against the
district magistrate and collector of Burdwan.
6. Issues or Question of
Law Whether the production of original manuscript
Involved which is written and signed by the special
correspondent as evidence is required or not to prove
the case?
7. Judgment The Sessions judge held that it can be brought as
evidence under s.81 and he is held liable for
defamation.
8. Grounds for appeal/ Additional The newspaper has to be proved by the manner
points under s. 61 of the code and as s. 81 provides no
manner to be fallowed.
9. Judgment and Order The prosecution has produced a copy of the
article in issue and the same was available
for sale. under Section 81 of the Indian
Evidence Act the Court shall presume the
genuineness of the documents mentioned in
the section including a newspaper and when
the court shall presume a fact under Section
4 of the Act it will be presumed that the fact
was proved unless and until it is disproved.
the statements in the copy are primafacie
defamatory and the High Court upheld
judgment of lower court
10. Comment or Observation or If a document is taken by the court under
s.81 of the code then it shall be presumed
Critical Analysis by Researcher
that the facts in it are proved unless they are
disproved by the opposite party.