Bombay High Court
Subhash Ramchandra Wadekar
Versus
Union of India
Decided On:

Headnote:Section 108-Presumption-Death of person unheard for seven years Presumption as to date of death-Ordinarily such person is presumed to be dead after seven years and not earlier-Date of presumed death to be proved by concerned party by leading reliable evidence.

       If Section 108 of Evidence Act, 1872 were to be interpreted literally, it would have to be held that law presumes death of a person unheard of for seven years but is silent in respect of date of presumed death. It is, therefore, a possible view that the date of presumed death must be proved by the party concerned as a fact by leading reliable evidence. This aspect of the matter is not very clear and one comes across conflicting observations in several decided cases on the subject. In light of authorities cited by t he learned Counsel on both sides referred to in later part of this Order, Court has reached the following conclusions:

       (1) Ordinarily a person unheard of for the statutory period shall be presumed to be dead on expiry of seven years and not earlier.

       (2) Section 108 of Indian Evidence Act, 1872 is not exhaustive, It is permissible for the Court to raise a suitable persumption regarding date of presumed death depending upon the attendant circumstance and other reliable material on record. In other words, no rule of universal applicability can be spelt out regarding presumed date of death.

       For Citation : AIR 1993 Bom 64 at pp. 65, 66