affidavit

An affidavit is a written statement in the first person, made on oath or solemn affirmation before an oath commissioner, notary or magistrate. The deponent declares which statements are true to his knowledge and which are based on information or belief, as the verification clause must show.

Affidavits are not ordinarily evidence at a trial, because the other side cannot cross-examine them. The court may order a fact to be proved by affidavit under Order XIX CPC, and in many suits examination-in-chief is now filed on affidavit, with cross-examination in court. Interlocutory applications are usually decided on affidavits. A false affidavit can be punished as false evidence.

Example

The plaintiff filed his examination-in-chief as an affidavit under Order XVIII Rule 4 CPC, and the defendant then cross-examined him in court.

In Indian law

• Order XIX, Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (affidavits)
• Section 139, Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (oath on affidavit by whom administered)
• Oaths Act, 1969

See also

oath · notary · perjury · examination-in-chief

Read more in the study notes

• Judicial control: public and private law remedies, writ procedure and ouster clauses (Administrative Law)
• Central Vigilance Commission, parliamentary committees and commissions of inquiry (Administrative Law)
• Lok Adalats and Permanent Lok Adalats (Alternative Dispute Resolution Systems)
• Arbitral award and setting aside under section 34 (Alternative Dispute Resolution Systems)
• Penal provisions for dishonour of cheques (ss.138-148) and the Bankers' Books Evidence Act, 1891 (Banking Law)
• Default and recovery: Debts Recovery Tribunals and the SARFAESI Act (Banking Law)