Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam

The Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam (BSA), 2023 (IAST: Bhāratīya Sākśya Adhiniyam; lit. 'Indian Evidence Act') is an Act of the Parliament of India.^[1][2][3]

Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam (BSA), 2023
Parliament of India
Long title An Act to consolidate and to provide for general rules and principles of evidence for fair trial.
Citation	Act No. 47 of 2023
Territorial extent	India
Passed by	Lok Sabha
Passed	20-December-2023
Passed by	Rajya Sabha
Passed	21-December-2023
Assented to by	President of India
Assented to	25-December-2023
Commenced	01-July-2024
Legislative history
First chamber: Lok Sabha
Bill title	Bharatiya Sakshya (Second) Bill, 2023
Introduced by	Home Minister, Amit Shah
Introduced	12-December-2023
Committee responsible	Parliamentary Standing Committee
Passed	20-December-2023
Voting summary	Majority Voice voted for Minority Voice voted against
Second chamber: Rajya Sabha
Bill title	Bharatiya Sakshya (Second) Bill, 2023
Received from the Lok Sabha	20-December-2023
Member(s) in charge	Home Minister, Amit Shah
Passed	21-December-2023
Voting summary	Majority Voice voted for Minority Voice voted against
Final stages
Finally passed both chambers	21-December-2023
Repeals
Indian Evidence Act
Related legislation
Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita
Status: In force

Background and timeline

• On 11-August-2023, Amit Shah, Minister of Home Affairs, introduced the Bharatiya Sakshya Bill, 2023 in Lok Sabha.
• On 12-December-2023, the Bharatiya Sakshya bill, 2023 was withdrawn.
• On 12-December-2023, the Bharatiya Sakshya (Second) bill, 2023 was introduced in Lok Sabha.
• On 20-December-2023, the Bharatiya Sakshya (Second) bill, 2023 was passed in Lok Sabha.^[4]
• On 21-December-2023, the Bharatiya Sakshya (Second) bill, 2023 was introduced in Rajya Sabha.
• On 21-December-2023, the Bharatiya Sakshya (Second) bill, 2023 was passed in Rajya Sabha.
• On 25-December-2023, the Bharatiya Sakshya (Second) bill, 2023 received the assent of the President of India.^[5][6]

Structure

The Act consists of 170 sections as opposed to the 167 sections in the previous Indian Evidence Act. Of these 167 sections, 23 sections have been modified, five removed, and one more section added.^{[7][8][9][10]}

The Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023

Part	Chapters	Section	Classification of Offences
Part 1	Chapter 1	Section 1 to 2	Preliminary
Part 2	Chapter 2	Section 3 to 50	Relevancy Of Facts (3) Closely Connected Facts (4 to 14) Admissions (15 to 25) Statements By Persons Who Cannot Be Called As Witnesses (26 to 27) Statements Made Under Special Circumstances (28 to 32) How Much Of A Statement Is To Be Proved (33) Judgments Of Courts When Relevant (34 to 38) Opinions Of Third Persons When Relevant (39 to 45) Character When Relevant (46 to 50)
Part 3 On Proof	Chapter 3	Section 51 to 53	Facts Which Need Not Be Proved
	Chapter 4	Clauses 54 to 55	Of Oral Evidence
	Chapter 5	Section 56 to 93	Of Documentary Evidence (56 to 73) Public documents (74 to 77) Presumptions As To Documents(78 to 93)
	Chapter 6	Section 94 to 103	Of The Exclusion Of Oral Evidence By Documentary Evidence
Part 4 Production And Effect Of Evidence	Chapter 7	Section 104 to 120	Of The Burden Of Proof
	Chapter 8	Section 121 to 123	Estoppel
	Chapter 9	Section 124 to 139	Of Witnesses
	Chapter 10	Section 140 to 168	Of Examination Of Witnesses
	Chapter 11	Section 169	Of Improper Admission And Rejection Of Evidence
	Chapter 12	Section 170	Repeal And Savings

Criticism

The new law makes it difficult for defendants to defend themselves at court and encourages prosecutors to produce potentially dubious evidence.^[11]

See also

• Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita
• Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita