7-Year Absence: Supreme Court Clarifies the Law on Presumption of Death
The Supreme Court of India, in a recent landmark judgment, has reaffirmed the interpretation of Section 108 of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872 , holding that a person who goes missing cannot be presumed dead on the date of disappearance. The presumption of death, according to law, arises only after the expiry of seven years , unless concrete evidence proves an earlier date of death. Facts of the Case The case originated from an appeal filed by the Nagpur Municipal Corporation against a Bombay High Court ruling that directed it to grant compassionate employment to the son of an employee, Gulab Mahagu Bawankule , who had gone missing on September 1, 2012 . The High Court had erroneously treated the date of disappearance as the date of death, thereby ordering compassionate appointment to the missing employee’s son. However, the Supreme Court, comprising Justices Pankaj Mithal and PB Varale , found this reasoning legally flawed. The Court clarified that, in the absence of proof regard...