legal maxim

The maxim Ante Litem Motam means spoken before lawsuit is brought. This maxim was introduced to prevent any tampering that could be done to the evidence before it was presented before the Court. The Common law uses this maxim in taking dying declarations as hearsay statements from the family of the deceased before the lawsuit was filed in the Court. By taking the statements before the lawsuit has begun, the Judiciary assumes that at that point of time when the deceased declared the statement, there was no need to cause any alterations to the evidence and thus, it is safe from any kind of adulteration.

Natabar Parichha v. Nimai Charan Misra

In this case, the Court had sent the signature of the plaintiff to an expert to get it verified. The Court applied the maxim of Ante Litem Motam demanded that the plaintiff bring his handwriting before the lawsuit was filed and his signature done on the papers. If the plaintiff was unable to furnish any handwriting before the Court, a signature prior to the lawsuit should be brought before the Court.