Letter to BS: SC's Ayodhya judgment is a perfectly convincing one

This refers to “Awaiting real closure” (November 11). It is well established in the law of evidence that it is only in criminal cases that the evidence required is to establish beyond a reasonable doubt. In civil cases, the evidence required is only by preponderance of the evidence. It is often that the judge has to persuade himself to lean on one side as opposed to the other. If the evidence is not quite clear cut, the principle that the judge has to follow in civil cases is the preponderance of probability. The opposite can never be true. We cannot enter here what evidence the five judges of the Supreme Court considered as preponderant in favour of the conclusion that the disputed land was used more by one side rather than the other. On principle, the judgment is perfectly legal and convincing. 

Sukumar Mukhopadhyay via email

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