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Evidence Act · Chapter IX · Of witnesses

Evidence Act section 131 in the BSA

Evidence Act 131BSA 136

Evidence Act section 131, “Production of documents or electronic records which another person, having possession, could refuse to produce”, is now BSA section 136 of the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023, in force from 1 July 2024.

What changed

From Evidence Act 131 to BSA 136

The words are the same as in the Evidence Act, apart from “Adhiniyam” for the Act’s own name and the new numbers of the sections it refers to.

The official text

Old and new, side by side

Indian Evidence Act, 1872

Section 131 Production of documents or electronic records which another person, having possession, could refuse to produce

No one shall be compelled to produce documents in his possession or electronic records under his control, which any other person would be entitled to refuse to produce if they were in his possession or control, unless such last-mentioned person consents to their production.

Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023

Section 136 Production of documents or electronic records which another person, having possession, could refuse to produce

No one shall be compelled to produce documents in his possession or electronic records under his control, which any other person would be entitled to refuse to produce if they were in his possession or control, unless such last-mentioned person consents to their production.

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amendment markers and footnotes of the official print are left out, so the old section reads as it stood when it was repealed.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The BSA repealed the Indian Evidence Act from 1 July 2024 (section 170(1)).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)).

Sources

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