BSA Section 111: Burden of proving that person is alive who has not been heard of for seven years (formerly IEA 108)
Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023 · in force from 1 July 2024
BSA 111: Burden of proving that person is alive who has not been heard of for seven years
From 1 July 2024
When the question is whether a man is alive or dead, and it is proved that he has not been heard of for seven years by those who would naturally have heard of him if he had been alive, the burden of proving that he is alive is shifted to the person who affirms it.
What it replaced in the Evidence Act
BSA 111 ← IEA 108 · Burden of proving that person is alive who has not been heard of for seven yearsChanged
BPR&D's comparison records a change. Read what changed before relying on the old wording.
What changed, per BPR&D: The words "Provided that" are excluded.
Printed in both official correspondence tables (BPR&D and NCRB).
[Provided that when] the question is whether a man is alive or dead, and it is proved that he has not been heard of for seven years by those who would naturally have heard of him if he had been alive, the burden of proving that he is alive is [shifted to] the person who affirms it.
Which one applies
Under section 170(2) of the BSA, an application, trial, inquiry, investigation, proceeding or appeal already pending on 1 July 2024 is dealt with under the Evidence Act; one begun on or after that date, under the BSA.
Read BSA section 170 →Judgments decided under IEA 108
They remain the law on IEA 108. Where the provision changed in the move, read what changed before relying on one for an offence after 1 July 2024.
Sources
- Correspondence Table and Comparison Summary of the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023 to the Indian Evidence Act, 1872, Bureau of Police Research & Development, Ministry of Home Affairs, page 10.
- Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023: bare Act with Corresponding Section Table, National Crime Records Bureau (Sankalan), page 20.
- The Indian Evidence Act, 1872 (Act 1 of 1872), as amended, India Code, Legislative Department, Ministry of Law and Justice.
BPR&D is the Bureau of Police Research & Development (Ministry of Home Affairs); NCRB the National Crime Records Bureau. Their correspondence tables are training aids, not law. This page is general information, not legal advice on any case; the bare Acts as published by the Government of India are the authority.