Meaning, Types, and Practical Guide
The phrase “burden of proof” is central to how courts decide cases, including matters under the Indian Evidence Act and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), India’s reformed criminal code framework replacing the IPC for offences and procedure alignment.
What Is the Burden of Proof?
The burden of proof is the legal duty to establish facts in a case to the satisfaction of the court. In simple terms, it answers “who must prove what” and “how convincingly it must be proved.”
Two Core Concepts: Legal Burden vs Evidential Burden
- Legal (persuasive) burden: The obligation to prove a fact or the case to a defined standard throughout the trial, usually on the party who asserts the claim or charge.
- Evidential burden: The duty to introduce sufficient evidence to make an issue “triable,” i.e., worth considering by the court; it may shift between parties during the trial.