Hindu Law and Custom (Recht und Sitte) c10.81

c10.81

The minimum number of witnesses is usually set at three. Bṛh. 7, 16 ff. speaks of 9, 7, 5, 4, 3 or 2 witnesses, but he however makes distinctions among them. Thus only 2 witnesses are said to be sufficient if they are learned Brahmans or secret witnesses or witnesses by whom documents are attested while on the other hand in the case of voluntary, reminded, family or indirect witnesses always 3 to 5 witnesses are necessary. In general, no notice shall be taken of a single witness, yet the deposition of a messenger, accountant, accidental witness, king and the chief judge may be valid even if he is the only witness. Others allow a single witness if he is acknowledged by both the parties; a single witness shall also be heard when it is about a deposit or an article borrowed for use (yācita) or if he is the manufacturer of the disputed property or if the witness for some other reason particularly deserves to be trusted, and specially in criminal cases the competence of the witnesses must not be examined too strictly (Vi. 8,