The Evidence Act is changing

The Bhartiya Sakshya Adhiniyam (BSA) will replace the Indian Evidence Act, 1872.

The Bhartiya Sakshya Adhiniyam (BSA) will replace the Indian Evidence Act, 1872.

Here’s what you should know:

1. BSA will consolidate and provide general rules and principles of evidence for a fair trial.

2. BSA provides that 'evidence' includes any information given electronically, which would permit the appearance of witnesses, accused, experts, and victims through electronic means.

3. BSA provides for the admissibility of an electronic or digital record as evidence and it shall have the same legal effect, validity, and enforceability as paper records.

4. BSA expands the scope of secondary evidence to include:

• copies made from the original by mechanical processes,

• copies made from or compared with the original,

• counterparts of documents as against the parties who did not execute them, and

• oral accounts of the contents of a document given by some person who has seen it.

5. Giving a matching hash value of the original record will be admissible as proof of evidence in the form of secondary evidence.

6. BSA limits the facts which are admissible and its certification as such in the courts.

7. BSA introduces more precise and uniform rules of practice of courts in dealing with facts and circumstances of the case by means of evidence.

8. BSA provides the format for a certificate for digital evidence.

Here’s the current version: https://www.asianlaws.org/bills/evidence-bsa.pdf