Evidence Act · Chapter V · Of documentary evidence

Evidence Act section 72 in the BSA

Evidence Act 72BSA 71

Evidence Act section 72, “Proof of document not required by law to be attested”, is now BSA section 71 of the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023, in force from 1 July 2024.

What changed

From Evidence Act 72 to BSA 71

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 72 Proof of document not required by law to be attested

An attested document not required by law to be attested may be proved as if it was unattested.

Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023

Section 71 Proof of document not required by law to be attested

An attested document not required by law to be attested may be proved as if it was unattested.

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amendment markers and footnotes of the official print are left out, so the old section reads as it stood when it was repealed.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The BSA repealed the Indian Evidence Act from 1 July 2024 (section 170(1)).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