Evidence Act · Chapter V · Of documentary evidence
Evidence Act section 69, “Proof where no attesting witness found”, is now BSA section 68 of the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023, in force from 1 July 2024.
Now BSA section 68, with the same rule; the reference to documents executed in the United Kingdom is dropped.
Indian Evidence Act, 1872
If no such attesting witness can be found, or if the document purports to have been executed in the United Kingdom, it must be proved that the attestation of one attesting witness at least is in his handwriting, and that the signature of the person executing the document is in the hand writing of that person.
Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023
If no such attesting witness can be found, it must be proved that the attestation of one attesting witness at least is in his handwriting, and that the signature of the person executing the document is in the handwriting of that person.
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amendment markers and footnotes of the official print are left out, so the old section reads as it stood when it was repealed.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The BSA repealed the Indian Evidence Act from 1 July 2024 (section 170(1)).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)).
