Evidence Act · Chapter VIII · Estoppel

Evidence Act section 116 in the BSA

Evidence Act 116BSA 122

Evidence Act section 116, “Estoppel of tenants and of licensee of person in possession”, is now BSA section 122 of the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023, in force from 1 July 2024.

What changed

From Evidence Act 116 to BSA 122

Now BSA section 122. A tenant may not deny the landlord’s title “during the continuance of the tenancy or any time thereafter” (IEA: during the continuance of the tenancy). The rule for licensees is the same.

The official text

Old and new, side by side

Indian Evidence Act, 1872

Section 116 Estoppel of tenants and of licensee of person in possession

No tenant of immovable property, or person claiming through such tenant, shall, during the continuance of the tenancy, be permitted to deny that the landlord of such tenant had, at the beginning of the tenancy, a title to such immovable property; and no person who came upon any immovable property by the licence of the person in possession there of shall be permitted to deny that such person had a title to such possession at the time when such licence was given.

Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023

Section 122 Estoppel of tenant and of licensee of person in possession

No tenant of immovable property, or person claiming through such tenant, shall, during the continuance of the tenancy or any time thereafter, be permitted to deny that the landlord of such tenant had, at the beginning of the tenancy, a title to such immovable property; and no person who came upon any immovable property by the licence of the person in possession thereof shall be permitted to deny that such person had a title to such possession at the time when such licence was given.

The texts are India Code’s. The amendment markers and footnotes of the official print are left out, so the old section reads as it stood when it was repealed. The PDFs linked below carry the full history.

Old law or new?

Which one applies to a case

The BSA repealed the Indian Evidence Act from 1 July 2024 (section 170(1)). Any application, trial, inquiry, investigation, proceeding or appeal pending immediately before that date is dealt with under the Evidence Act as it then stood, as if the BSA had not come into force (section 170(2)).