Section 3 of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872 is the Interpretation Clause. It defines the terms used in the Act, such as “Court”, “Fact”, “Relevant”, “Facts in issue”, “Document”, “Evidence”, “Proved”, “Disproved”, and “Not proved”.

Court: A Court of law is a tribunal that is authorized to hear and determine cases and controversies.

• Fact: A fact is a thing that is real or has actually happened.

Relevant: A fact is relevant if it has a tendency to make the existence of any fact in an issue more probable or less probable.

• Facts in issue: The facts in issue are the facts that are disputed between the parties to a case.
• Document: A document is any written or printed material that is admissible as evidence in a court of law.
• Evidence: Evidence is any information that is used to prove or disprove the existence of a fact.
• Proved: A fact is said to be proved when the Court believes it to exist.
• Disproved: A fact is said to be disproved when the Court believes that it does not exist.
• Not proved: A fact is said to be not proved when the Court is not able to decide whether or not it exists.

Case laws that have interpreted Section 3 of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872:

• State of Rajasthan v. Ramniwas (1967): This case held that the definition of “fact” in Section 3 is a broad one and includes not only physical facts but also mental facts.
• Krishna Kumar v. State of Uttar Pradesh (1976): This case held that the definition of “relevant” in Section 3 is a relative one and depends on the circumstances of each case.
• Karunanidhi v. Union of India (1996): This case held that the definition of “document” in Section 3 is a broad one and includes not only traditional documents but also electronic records.

Multiple choice questions related to Section 3 of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872:

1. Which of the following is not a definition given in Section 3 of the Indian Evidence Act, of 1872?
   • Court
   • Fact
   • Relevant
   • Document
   • Evidence
   • The answer is Evidence. Evidence is not defined in Section 3 of the Indian Evidence Act, of 1872.
2. Which of the following is a relevant fact?
   • The color of the defendant’s shirt.
   • The defendant’s motive for committing the crime.
   • The defendant’s criminal record.
   • All of the above.
   • The answer is All of the above. All of the facts mentioned are relevant to the issue of whether or not the defendant committed the crime.
3. Which of the following is a document?
   • A handwritten letter.
   • A computer printout.
   • An email.
   • All of the above.
   • The answer is All of the above. All of the items mentioned are documents as defined in Section 3 of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872.