“Justice must not only be done, but must also be seen to be done.”

And, it would seen to be done only if there is proper marshalling & appreciation of evidences, which is the backbone of any Judgement or Order. Though having pivotal importance, interestingly, these two terms have nowhere been defined in any statute.

Marshalling of evidence means picking up various pieces of evidence (both oral & documentary) and putting them together in a proper manner. Simply put, it is the sequencing of the evidences w.r.t each disputed point (issue or charge) to be proved. It is also a pre-condition to appreciation of the evidence.

Appreciation of evidence means analysing and assessing the worth, value, quality, reliability, and trustworthiness of a particular piece of evidence.

Simply put, it is an evaluation of the evidence adduced in a case.

Further Readings/Sources:

1. A book titled ‘S.D Singh’s Judgments and How to write them’ Foreword by Justice Bhagwati Prasad Beri published by EBC.
2. Section 3, Section 5, Section 136 paragraph 1, Section 165 proviso 1 of IEA.

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Guest post by Mr. Vishal Vyas, Civil Judge (Rajasthan Judicial Services)