What is the hearsay rule?

The hearsay rule is one of the basic evidentiary rules. The actual rule is difficult to state with any brevity or define exhaustively. One of the classic definitions of hearsay is found in Subramaniam v. Public Prosecutor [1956], W.L.R. 965 (P.C.) at p. 965: “Evidence of a statement made to a witness by a person who is not called as a witness may or may not be hearsay. It is hearsay and inadmissible when the object of the evidence is to establish the truth of what is contained in the statement. It is not hearsay and is admissible when it is proposed to establish by the evidence, not the truth of the statement , but the fact it was made. The fact that the statement was made, quite apart from its truth, is frequently relevant in considering the mental state and conduct thereafter of the witness or of some other person in whose presence the statement was made.”