Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam 2023 (BSA)
Definition
India's current evidence statute, which replaced the Indian Evidence Act 1872. Section 63 of the BSA governs electronic records and requires a certificate of authenticity signed by a responsible official before electronic evidence is admitted. It also addresses secondary evidence and imposes obligations on parties seeking to rely on digital documents.
- Enactment
- Replaced the Indian Evidence Act 1872
- In force
- 1 July 2024
- Scope of expert opinion
- Covers handwriting, document examination, fingerprints, and digital records
Common questions
What replaced the Indian Evidence Act 1872?+
The Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam 2023 (BSA) is India's new evidence law that replaced the Indian Evidence Act 1872 for new proceedings. It came into force on 1 July 2024.
Does the BSA change how expert opinions are admitted in court?+
No. Section 39 of the BSA preserves the existing expert-opinion admissibility framework, including opinions on handwriting and document examination. Courts continue to apply the same gateway for expert testimony.
How does the BSA handle fingerprint databases and digital records?+
Section 61 of the BSA addresses digital records including fingerprint database outputs. Digital fingerprint evidence follows specific rules under the new law.
Related terms
- Daubert Standard
- The US federal evidentiary standard (Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals, 1993) requiring that expert testimony be based on scientifically valid methods with...
- Frye Standard
- The US legal test for admissibility of scientific evidence, originating from Frye v. United States (1923), which required that a technique be...
- Admissibility
- Whether a piece of evidence is permitted to be placed before the fact-finder at all. Admissibility is a threshold question, decided by...
- Expert Witness
- A person whose specialised knowledge is accepted by a court and who gives opinion evidence, not just factual evidence. Forensic auditors frequently...
- ISO/IEC 17025
- The international standard for testing and calibration laboratories, published jointly by the International Organization for Standardization and the International Electrotechnical Commission. It...
- ACE-V
- Analysis, Comparison, Evaluation, Verification: the four-stage method for latent print examination used by accredited forensic fingerprint laboratories. Analysis examines the latent in...
- ASTM E30
- The ASTM International Committee on Forensic Sciences, which maintains standards including E2388 (minimum training requirements for document examiners) and E2520 (examination of...
- Blind Verification
- The procedure in which a second fingerprint examiner independently performs the Analysis and Comparison stages without knowledge of the first examiner's conclusion....
- Budapest Convention
- The Council of Europe Convention on Cybercrime (2001), the first binding international treaty on cyber offences. Requires signatory states to criminalise illegal...
- CFSL
- Central Forensic Science Laboratory: a central government lab operating under DFSS. India has CFSLs at New Delhi, Hyderabad, Chandigarh, Kolkata, Pune, Guwahati,...
- Chain of Custody
- The documented chronological record of who collected, handled, transferred, and examined a piece of evidence. For digital evidence, chain of custody includes...
- CODIS
- The FBI's Combined DNA Index System, the US national STR-based forensic DNA database. Contains profiles from convicted offenders, arrestees, and unidentified crime-scene...
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