Proved , Disproved and Not Proved

When is a fact said to be proved. Section 3 says :

Proved : A fact is said to be proved when, after considering the matters before
it, the Court either believes it to exist, or considers its existence so probabl
e that a prudent man ought, under the circumstances of the particular case, to a
ct upon the supposition that it exists.
The degree of certainty which must be arrived at before a fact is said to be pro
ved is that described in this section.
The section also states as to when a fact is said to be disproved.
Disproved : A fact is said to be disproved when, after considering the matters b
efore it, the Court either believes that it does not exist, or considers its non
-existence so probable that a prudent man ought, under the circumstances of the
particular case, to act upon the supposition that it does not exist.
The section concludes with this set of provisions by defining a fact which is sa
id to be not proved . It says :
Not Proved : A fact is said to be not proved when it is neither proved not dispr
oved.
These provisions of the Act deal with the degree or standard of proof. What and
how much proof is necessary to convince the judge of existence of a fact in issu
e? The answer depends upon many circumstances as different standards of proof ar
e demanded in civil and criminal cases. In civil cases, for example, a matter is
taken to be proved when the balance of probability suggests it, nut in criminal
cases the court requires a proof beyond reasonable doubt. Proof means such evid
ence as would induce a reasonable man to come to the conclusion. Suspicion canno
t take the place of proof, nor moral belief of the judge in the guilt of the acc
used.
Supreme Court held that in Criminal cases there has to be a proof which leaves b
ehind no reasonable doubt about the prosecution version. The victim's dying decl
aration which left many uncovered points and also narrated an unnatural story. B
ecause of these doubts the evidence was rejected.
The court has to proceed on the basis of the matters before it , which may be in th
e shape of evidence or any other shape.
Proved :- Proof does not mean proof to rigid mathematical demonstration, because th
at is impossible. It means such evidence as would induce a reasonable man to com
e to conclusion . All that can be done is to adduce such evidence as that the mind
of the tribunal is satisfied that the fact is so. In the ordinary affairs of li
fe courts do not require demonstrative evidence. Absolute certainty amounting to
demonstration is seldom to be had in the affairs of life and we are frequently
obliged to act on degrees of probabilities which fall very short of it indeed.
In M. Narsingha Rao v. State of Andhra Pradesh, the Supreme Court held that a fa
ct is said to be proved when after considering the matter before it the Court ei
ther believe it to exist or considers its existence so probable that a prudent m
an ought, under circumstances of particular case, to act upon supposition that i
t exists. This is the definition of the word 'proved' in Evidence Act. What is r
equired is production of such materials on which the Court reasonably act to rea
ch the supposition that the fact exist. Proof of facts depends upon degree of po
ssibility of having existed. The standard required for reaching the supposition
is that of a prudent man acting in any important matter concerning him.
The extent to which a particular evidence aids in proving the fact in controvers
y is called as probative force. This probative force must be sufficient to induc
e the court either (a) to believe in the existence of the fact sought to be prov
ed, or (b) to consider its existence so probable that a prudent man ought to act
upon the supposition that it exists. The test is of probability upon which a pr
udent man may base his opinion. In other words, it is the estimate which a prude
nt man makes of the probabilities having regard to what must be his duty as a re
sult of his estimate.
Proof and suspicion :- It must be borne in mind that suspicion and conjecture ca
nnot take the place of legal proof.
Matter before it :- In order to decide as to whether a particular fact is proved

, the court has to consider the 'matter' before it. The expression, matters befor
e it in this definition includes materials which do not fall within the definitio
n of 'evidence' as given in Sec. 3. The result of local enquiry by a court, mate
rial objects brought before the court, material objects brought before the court
, the demeanor of witnesses, admission by parties, confessions by the accused, s
tatement of the accused, Commissioner's reports, are not evidence according to t
he definition given in Sec. 3. But they are all matters before the court to be c
onsidered while coming to conclusion.
Disproved and not Proved :- The definition of the word 'disproved' is a converse o
f the definition of the word 'proved'. The expression 'not proved' indicates a s
tate of mind in between the two, that is, when one cannot say whether a fact is
proved or disproved. Not Proved is something different from being false . An inabil
ity to prove a claim does not mean in all cases that it is false. It negatives b
oth proof and disproof.
Sec. 3 of Evidence Act, while explaining the meaning of proved, disproved and no
t proved provides, the standard of proof. This standard should be of ordinary pr
udence in person, who will judge its existence or non-existence from the standar
d of circumstances before him.
In Naval Kishor Somani v. Poonam Somani, Andhra Pradesh High Court said that a f
act which is proved does not necessarily mean that it is false one. The expressi
on 'Proved' is followed by expression disproved. This is followed by difinition
of 'not proved'. The fact is said to be not proved when it is neither proved not
disproved. On the other hand the fact is said to be disproved when after consid
ering the matters before it the court either believes that it does not exist or
considers its bib-existence. The word 'disproved' is akin to the word 'false'. W
hat is disproved is normally taken to be false thing. It will be thus seen that
a fact proved is not necessarily a fact disproved. A fact which is 'not proved'
may be false or true. A doubt lingers about its truth merely because it is not p
roved or may not jump to the conclusion that it is disproved. A fact is disprove
d normally by the person who claims that alleged that the fact is not true.
A fact is said to be disproved when the Court believes that the fact in question
does not exist and that the Court believes the non-existence of that fact from
the standard of man of ordinary prudence.
Not Proved where the fact is deemed to be not proved from the standard of a pers
on of ordinary prudence. The phrase NOT PROVED means neither the fact is proved
with certainty nor the fact is believed to exist. The phrase NOT PROVED is betwe
en the phrase proved and disproved. And the phrase not proved is the result of c
areful scrutiny of the person of ordinary-prudence that the fact either exists w
ith certainty nor its non-existence is proved with certainty. It is provision be
tween existence and non-existence of the fact in the mind of a man of ordinary p
rudence.