A agrees, in writing, to sell a horse to B for Rs. 1,000 or Rs. 1,500. To show which price was to be…

The two alternative prices create a patent ambiguity on the face of the written agreement. Section 96 of the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023 (formerly section 93 of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872), whose illustration deals with a similar horse sale at alternative prices, prohibits evidence of facts to show its meaning or cure that facial defect. This is distinct from a latent ambiguity that can be clarified by showing the document’s application to existing facts; permission or secondary evidence does not evade the section 96 prohibition.