BSA 2023 Section 39
Definition
The expert-evidence provision of India's Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam 2023, successor to Indian Evidence Act Section 45. Governs the admissibility of expert opinion without a Daubert-equivalent structured gatekeeping hearing; challenge is conducted through cross-examination rather than pre-trial exclusion.
- Statute
- Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam 2023, Section 39 (successor to Indian Evidence Act Section 45)
- Jurisdiction
- Indian courts
- Key requirement
- Experts must explain the basis of their opinion
Common questions
What is Section 39 of the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam 2023?+
Section 39 governs when expert opinion evidence is admissible in Indian courts. It applies to people with special skill in science, art, foreign law, or trade. The section replaced the earlier Section 45 of the Indian Evidence Act and requires experts to explain the basis of their opinion.
How does Section 39 handle challenging expert testimony?+
Unlike the US Daubert framework, which uses pre-trial gatekeeping hearings, Section 39 does not require a structured screening process before trial. Instead, the challenge to expert evidence happens through cross-examination in court.
Who can give expert opinion under Section 39?+
Anyone with specialized knowledge in their field can testify, provided they are skilled in science, art, foreign law, or trade. The expert must be able to explain the foundations of their opinion to the court.
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...
- AABA 2020 Position Statement
- The American Association of Biological Anthropologists 2020 statement affirming that biological race does not exist as a discrete biological category in modern...
- 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...
- Biological Race
- A concept from nineteenth-century physical anthropology that proposed discrete biological categories (races) of Homo sapiens. Modern population genetics and biological anthropology reject...
- Blind Verification
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- Caucasoid / Mongoloid / Negroid
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- Clinal Variation
- The pattern of continuous, geographically gradual change in a biological trait across human populations, without sharp categorical discontinuities. Human genetic and craniometric...
- Contemporaneous Documentation
- The requirement to record assessment observations, raw data, collateral information reviewed, and the reasoning for forensic opinions at the time they are...
- Contextual Bias
- The influence of case-relevant background information (suspect financial difficulties, police intelligence) on the direction of an examiner's technical analysis. Demonstrated experimentally for...
- Court-Appointed Expert
- A neutral forensic expert appointed by the court independently of the parties; the default model in French and German civil law systems...
- CPR Part 35
- The Civil Procedure Rules section governing expert evidence in England and Wales. It establishes the expert's overriding duty to the court, the...
- CrimPR Part 19
- Criminal Procedure Rules Part 19 (England and Wales): the expert-witness procedural code requiring disclosure of qualifications, methodology, limitations, and whether the method...
Explained in these topics
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- The Forensic Psychologist in Court: Roles and BoundariesSection 39 of the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam 2023, replacing Indian Evidence Act Section 45, governing the admissibility of expert opinion evidence in Indian...
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