As per the provisions of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872, if a contract is contained in several letters, what must be proved?
Any one letter in which the contract is contained must be proved
Any letter which has the conclusion of the letter must be proved
All the letters in which the contract is contained must be proved
Only that letter of contract must be proved which has the disputed portion
Answer is Right!
Answer is Wrong!
This question was previously asked in
UPSC CISF-AC-EXE – 2018
When a contract is contained in a series of letters, the entire series of letters collectively constitutes the documentary evidence of the contract. According to the principles of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872, particularly Section 91, when the terms of a contract have been reduced to the form of a document or a series of documents, no evidence shall be given in proof of the terms of such contract except the document itself or secondary evidence where permissible. If the contract is formed through correspondence, all the letters that form part of and evidence the terms of the contract must be produced or accounted for (if the original is lost, secondary evidence may be given). Proving only one letter, or only the concluding one, or only the disputed portion in isolation would not give a complete and accurate picture of the entire contractual agreement.