BSA Section 64: Rules as to notice to produce (formerly IEA 66)
Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023 · in force from 1 July 2024
BSA 64: Rules as to notice to produce
From 1 July 2024
Secondary evidence of the contents of the documents referred to in clause (a) of section 60, shall not be given unless the party proposing to give such secondary evidence has previously given to the party in whose possession or power the document is, or to his advocate or representative, such notice to produce it as is prescribed by law; and if no notice is prescribed by law, then such notice as the Court considers reasonable under the circumstances of the case:
Provided that such notice shall not be required in order to render secondary evidence admissible in any of the following cases, or in any other case in which the Court thinks fit to dispense with it:—
(a) when the document to be proved is itself a notice;
(b) when, from the nature of the case, the adverse party must know that he will be required to produce it;
(c) when it appears or is proved that the adverse party has obtained possession of the original by fraud or force;
(d) when the adverse party or his agent has the original in Court;
(e) when the adverse party or his agent has admitted the loss of the document;
(f) when the person in possession of the document is out of reach of, or not subject to, the process of the Court.
What it replaced in the Evidence Act
BSA 64 ← IEA 66 · Rules as to notice to produceChanged
BPR&D's comparison records a change. Read what changed before relying on the old wording.
What changed, per BPR&D: "attorney or pleader" is replaced by "advocate or representative".
Printed in both official correspondence tables (BPR&D and NCRB).
Secondary evidence of the contents of the documents referred to in section 65, clause (a), shall not be given unless the party proposing to give such secondary evidence has previously given to the party in whose possession or power the document is, [or to his attorney or pleader,] such notice to produce it as is prescribed by law; and if no notice is prescribed by law, then such notice as the Court considers reasonable under the circumstances of the case:
Provided that such notice shall not be required in order to render secondary evidence admissible in any of the following cases, or in any other case in which the Court thinks fit to dispense with it: ––
(1) when the document to be proved is itself a notice;
(2) when, from the nature of the case, the adverse party must know that he will be required to produce it;
(3) when it appears or is proved that the adverse party has obtained possession of the original by fraud or force;
(4) when the adverse party or his agent has the original in Court;
(5) when the adverse party or his agent has admitted the loss of the document;
(6) when the person in possession of the document is out of reach of, or not subject to, the process of the Court.
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 66
They remain the law on IEA 66. 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 6.
- Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023: bare Act with Corresponding Section Table, National Crime Records Bureau (Sankalan), page 16.
- 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.