BSA 2023 Section 79
Definition
The Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam 2023, which replaced the Indian Evidence Act 1872, governing expert testimony admissibility in India. Section 79 (formerly § 45 IEA) holds that the opinion of a person especially skilled in a question of science or art is relevant when that question requires special knowledge.
- Provision
- Section 39, BSA 2023
- Predecessor
- Section 45, IEA 1872
- Subject
- Expert opinion relevance
- Applies to
- Forensic anthropology, quality frameworks
- Jurisdiction
- India
Common questions
What must a witness show for their opinion to be admitted under Section 39?+
That the question at issue requires special knowledge in a science, art, foreign law or similar field, and that the witness has the skill or experience to speak to it, not any formal certification requirement.
How does this provision interact with international frameworks like SWGANTH or ENFSI?+
The statute sets only the domestic admissibility threshold; adherence to bodies such as SWGANTH or ENFSI FAWG is a professional quality benchmark that can support credibility but is not required by Section 39 itself.
Related terms
- ABFA Diplomate
- The American Board of Forensic Anthropology's practitioner certification, requiring a doctoral degree, three or more years of forensic casework, a reviewed case...
- Daubert Standard
- The US federal evidentiary standard (Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals, 1993) requiring that expert testimony be based on scientifically valid methods with...
- ENFSI FAWG
- The ENFSI Forensic Anthropology Working Group, which produces the ENFSI Best Practice Manual for Forensic Anthropology and operates an annual External Quality...
- ISO 17020:2012
- The international standard for inspection bodies. Applies to forensic anthropology teams conducting scene recovery and exhumation, requiring documented procedures, personnel qualification evidence,...
- ISO/IEC 17025:2017
- The international standard specifying general requirements for the competence of testing and calibration laboratories. Covers management (document control, non-conforming work, audits) and...
- OSAC Anthropology Subcommittee
- The Organisation of Scientific Area Committees' Anthropology Subcommittee, operating under NIST since 2014. Develops and publishes formal standards for forensic anthropology methods...
- Peer Review of Casework
- The ABFA 2017 position: every forensic anthropology report submitted to a court should be independently reviewed by a second qualified analyst before...
- Qualified-Opinion Framework
- The four-tier opinion scale used by forensic anthropologists for identification opinions: identification confirmed / consistent with / cannot exclude / excludes. Formalised...
- SWGANTH
- Scientific Working Group for Forensic Anthropology. A US expert panel that produced guidance documents (2008-2013) on standards for forensic anthropological practice, now...