The general principle of the law of evidence is that it is the judge who will decide the admissibility…

Under section 136 of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872 the Judge decides whether evidence is admissible, and the accepted rule is that when in doubt "he should declare in favour of its admissibility", leaving its weight to be judged later; in Bipin Shantilal Panchal v. State of Gujarat (2001) the Supreme Court likewise directed trial courts to admit objected evidence tentatively and decide the objection at the final hearing. Excluding the evidence because of doubt, referring the point to the High Court, or leaving it to unguided discretion is not the rule.

Current law: the Judge's power to decide admissibility is now in section 141 of the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023.