Evidence Act · Chapter X · Of the examination of witnesses
Evidence Act section 139, “Cross-examination of person called to produce a document”, is now BSA section 144 of the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023, in force from 1 July 2024.
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.
Indian Evidence Act, 1872
A person summoned to produce a document does not become a witness by the mere fact that he produces it, and cannot be cross-examined unless and until he is called as a witness.
Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023
A person summoned to produce a document does not become a witness by the mere fact that he produces it, and cannot be cross-examined unless and until he is called as a witness.
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amendment markers and footnotes of the official print are left out, so the old section reads as it stood when it was repealed.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.
The BSA repealed the Indian Evidence Act from 1 July 2024 (section 170(1)).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)).
