Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam

The Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023 (BSA) is the new law of evidence that came into force on 1 July 2024, replacing the Indian Evidence Act, 1872 (IEA). The IEA was one of the oldest and most intellectually sophisticated statutes in Indian law — a codification by Sir James Fitzjames Stephen that had remained largely unchanged for 150 years. The BSA makes approximately 170 provisions, compared to 167 in the IEA, updating the evidence law to reflect digital technology, DNA evidence, and modern courtroom realities while broadly preserving the conceptual structure of the IEA.

Key changes in the BSA from the IEA include: (1) Electronic evidence — the BSA comprehensively addresses electronically generated documents, electronic records, and digital evidence. The earlier Section 65B IEA certificate requirement for secondary evidence of electronic records has been revised in the BSA to reduce technical barriers to admissibility; (2) Joint trial documents — provisions clarifying the admissibility of documents in cases involving multiple accused; (3) Expert evidence — updated provisions for the admission of scientific expert evidence including DNA, ballistics, and digital forensics; (4) Confessions — the position on confessions substantially mirrors the IEA, but with updated cross-references to BNSS provisions; and (5) Hearsay — the BSA preserves the hearsay exceptions of the IEA (Section 32 equivalents), now in Section 26 BSA.

The BSA's treatment of electronic evidence is its most practically significant area of reform. In the digital age, most documents of significance exist in electronic form — emails, WhatsApp messages, GPS location data, CCTV footage, banking records, and electronic contracts. The IEA's Section 65B, as interpreted by courts, had created significant technical hurdles for the admission of electronic evidence. The BSA simplifies and clarifies the admissibility of electronic records while preserving safeguards against tampering and fabrication.

The BSA preserves the fundamental conceptual framework of the IEA — the law of relevancy (what facts are relevant), the law of proof (how facts are proved — by oral evidence, documentary evidence, or presumption), the law of witnesses (competency, examination, impeachment), and the general principles of estoppel. Practitioners familiar with the IEA will find the BSA broadly familiar in structure, with the most significant changes being in the provisions relating to electronic evidence, DNA proof, and the technical requirements for certificates and admission of expert evidence.

For advocates, the BSA transition requires attention to: (1) the new section numbers for familiar IEA provisions; (2) the revised electronic evidence regime — the specific certification requirements under Section 57 BSA; (3) the updated hearsay exceptions under Section 26 BSA (old IEA Section 32); and (4) the application of old IEA case law — decisions interpreting the IEA remain relevant to the extent the BSA provisions are similar in language and scope. Courts will continue to apply IEA-era precedents by analogy to BSA provisions of equivalent scope.