BSA 2023 § 39
Definition
Section 39 of the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam 2023, the provision governing expert opinion evidence in Indian courts. Replaced Indian Evidence Act 1872 § 45. Expert opinion is admissible as a relevant fact; the court assesses weight. No Daubert-equivalent gatekeeping is required by statute.
- Jurisdiction
- India
- Replaced
- Indian Evidence Act 1872 Section 45
- Admissibility standard
- Relevance and expert qualifications, not Daubert gatekeeping
Common questions
What is BSA 2023 Section 39?+
It is India's provision for expert opinion evidence in court under the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam 2023. It replaced Indian Evidence Act 1872 Section 45 and allows opinions from persons specially skilled in science, art, foreign law, or handwriting to be heard as relevant facts by the court.
How does a court decide whether to use expert testimony under BSA Section 39?+
The court considers whether the expert is properly qualified and whether their opinion is relevant. Unlike the Daubert standard used in some other jurisdictions, Indian law does not require courts to formally gatekeep expert evidence before it is presented.
What kinds of expert evidence can be offered under this section?+
Experts can testify on matters of science, art, foreign law, and handwriting. This includes forensic psychological evidence like risk assessment tools, as long as the expert has special skill in that domain.
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...
- Positive Predictive Value (PPV)
- The probability that a person who tests positive on a risk instrument will actually reoffend. PPV depends on both the instrument's sensitivity...
- Acute-2007
- A 7-item rapid-assessment instrument for short-term fluctuating risk factors (victim access, emotional collapse, substance abuse) used at each supervision contact to detect...
- Antisocial Personality Disorder (ASPD)
- DSM-5 / ICD-11 disorder defined primarily by behavioural history with conduct disorder before 15 as a prerequisite. Found in 50-80% of male...
- ATSA (Association for the Treatment of Sexual Abusers)
- The primary international professional body for sex-offender treatment providers and evaluators; publishes practice standards and guidelines that govern responsible use of risk...
- AUC (Area Under the ROC Curve)
- The standard metric for risk-instrument predictive accuracy: a value of 0.50 equals chance; 0.70 is typically described as moderate accuracy; 1.00 is...
- AUC Statistic
- Area under the receiver operating characteristic curve; the standard criterion-validity metric for forensic risk and malingering instruments, with 0.70 considered a minimum...
- Base Rate
- The prior probability of an event or proposition before specific evidence is considered. In forensic inference, the base rate is the probability...
- Bolam Test
- The UK standard for medical negligence from Bolam v. Friern Hospital Management Committee (1957) 1 WLR 582: a doctor is not negligent...
- Bolitho Qualification
- The qualification to Bolam from Bolitho v. City and Hackney HA (1997) 4 All ER 771: the responsible body of medical opinion...
- BSA 2023 § 63
- The electronic record admissibility provision (replacing IEA § 65B), requiring a certificate from a person in a responsible official position confirming the...
Explained in these topics
- Admissibility and Ethics: Daubert, Frye, R v. Doheny and ELSISection 39 of the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam 2023, the provision governing expert opinion evidence in Indian courts. Replaced Indian Evidence Act 1872 § 45. E...
- Forensic-Psychology Expert Witness and Daubert / Frye ChallengesThe Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam provision (replacing IEA § 45) governing expert opinion admissibility in Indian courts; expert opinions on science, art, or for...
- Foundations of Forensic Assessment and Test ValidityThe expert-opinion provision of India's Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam 2023 (replacing IEA § 45), under which psychological test evidence is tendered in Indian co...
- Psychopathy: Cleckley, Hare PCL-R and Its Court UseBharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam 2023 expert-opinion provision (replacing IEA § 45). Admits expert opinion on science or art from a suitably qualified person; stand...
- Sex-Offender Risk Assessment: Static-99R, Stable-2007 and SRMThe Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam 2023 expert-opinion provision (replacing IEA § 45) governing admissibility of expert testimony in Indian courts, including fore...
- Structured Risk Assessment: HCR-20 V3, VRAG-R and SAPROFThe Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam 2023 expert-opinion provision (replacing IEA § 45): permits courts to receive opinion evidence from persons specially skilled i...
- The Medico-Legal Expert in CourtThe operative expert-opinion provision of India's Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam 2023, replacing IEA 1872 § 45. Makes opinions of 'especially skilled' persons on...