Exclusion of testimonies from adversaries and persons with conflict to be repealed

The government has proposed in parliament to repeal the article in the Evidence Act that excludes testimonies from adversaries and persons with conflicts of interest to a case.

The Attorney General's Office has submitted a bill to parliament proposing multiple changes to the Evidence Act, which was ratified in 2022. The bill calls to repeal four existing articles. 

One such article is Article 51 of the Evidence Act. Article 51 reads, "Unless otherwise stated in this Act, testimony of a witness shall not be taken where the witness has a conflict of interest with or bears an ill will towards any of the parties to the case".

If this article is repealed, adversaries or persons with conflict of interest will be allowed to present testimonies in trial. There are also no guidelines on this outlined in the Act. 

Courts are expected to set guidelines for allowing such testimony should this be allowed through repealing Article 51. The Supreme Court has previously set such guidelines for taking the testimonies of morally compromised individuals. 

Another article proposed to be repealed is Article 75 of the Evidence Act. This article states, "A declaration made by a person who is terminally ill, regarding a right of another person shall be a valid declaration".