Res gestae
Latin: Things done
Also called: Facts forming part of the same transaction, Rule of res gestae
Facts, including statements, so connected with a fact in issue or relevant fact as to form part of the same transaction are relevant, whether at the same time and place or not (Section 4, BSA).
Explained
Res gestae means things done. In Indian evidence law the doctrine is enacted in Section 4 of the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023, earlier Section 6 of the Evidence Act: facts which, though not in issue, are so connected with a fact in issue or a relevant fact as to form part of the same transaction, are relevant, whether they occurred at the same time and place or at different times and places. Section 4 of the BSA adds the words "or a relevant fact", which the old Section 6 did not contain.
The test is whether the fact is part of the same transaction. A transaction is a group of facts so connected together as to be referred to by a single legal name, such as a crime, a contract or a wrong, and continuity of action, proximity of time and unity of purpose are the usual indicators. Statements made by the accused, the victim or bystanders during or immediately before or after the event become relevant as part of it. The rationale is that such statements are spontaneous and made before there is time for concoction, and so they operate as an exception to the rule against hearsay.
Contemporaneity is the key limit. A statement made after a gap that allows reflection or fabrication is a narrative of a past event, not part of the res gestae. In Gentela Vijayavardhan Rao v. State of A.P. (1996) the Supreme Court held that statements of injured persons recorded by a Magistrate some time after the attack were not part of the res gestae, because the requirement of spontaneity was not met. Such statements may still be admissible on another footing, for instance as a dying declaration under Section 26(a) of the BSA if the maker dies.
The Illustrations show the breadth of the rule: in a murder by beating, whatever was said or done by the accused, the victim or bystanders at the beating, or so shortly before or after it as to form part of it, is relevant; in a war against the Government, events in which the accused did not personally take part are relevant as part of the general transaction. Examiners test the BSA section number, the change of wording and the contemporaneity requirement.
What the law says
Facts which, though not in issue, are so connected with a fact in issue or a relevant fact as to form part of the same transaction, are relevant, whether they occurred at the same time and place or at different times and places.
Illustrations.
(a) A is accused of the murder of B by beating him. Whatever was said or done by A or B or the bystanders at the beating, or so shortly before or after it as to form part of the transaction, is a relevant fact.
Relevancy of facts forming part of same transaction
Earlier law: IEA 6. Relevancy of facts forming part of same transaction.
Earlier law: Section 6, Evidence Act
Example
Illustration (a) to Section 4 of the BSA: A is accused of the murder of B by beating him. Whatever was said or done by A or B or the bystanders at the beating, or so shortly before or after it as to form part of the transaction, is a relevant fact.
For the exam
- Enacted in Section 4 BSA; earlier Section 6 of the Evidence Act.
- Section 4 BSA covers facts connected with a fact in issue or a relevant fact.
- Statements must be contemporaneous and spontaneous, leaving no time for fabrication.
- Res gestae is an exception to the hearsay rule.
- Later statements to a Magistrate are not res gestae (Gentela Vijayavardhan Rao, 1996).
29 questions in the Law Maker question bank use this maxim. Practise Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam questions
Related terms
- Facts in issueFacts from which, alone or with other facts, the existence, non-existence, nature or extent of a right, liability or disability asserted or denied in a suit or proceeding necessarily follows (Section 2(1)(g) of the BSA).
- FactAnything, state of things or relation of things capable of being perceived by the senses, and any mental condition of which a person is conscious (Section 2(1)(f) of the BSA).
- EvidenceUnder Section 2(1)(e) of the BSA, statements of witnesses before the Court, including those given electronically (oral evidence), and documents, including digital records, produced for its inspection (documentary evidence).
- Corpus delictiThe substance of an offence: proof that the crime charged was in fact committed by someone. In homicide it is often equated with the dead body, but its recovery is not essential to a conviction.
- Nemo moriturus praesumitur mentiriA person about to die is presumed not to lie. The maxim is the rationale for admitting dying declarations, now under Section 26(a) of the BSA.
Further reading
Checked 6 November 2026. Statutory text is quoted from the Bare Acts library, taken from India Code. See the full glossary.