Section 1 of Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023: Short Title, Application and Commencement

Updated: 12 September 2026

Section 1 of the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023 (BSA) states the name of the law, identifies the judicial proceedings to which it applies, lists important exclusions, and authorises the Central Government to notify its commencement date. The BSA is Act No. 47 of 2023 and came into force on 1 July 2024.

Text of Section 1 - Short title, application and commencement

Meaning and scope of Section 1

1. Short title

Sub-section (1) gives the statute its formal name: the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023. It is the central law that now lays down the general rules and principles of evidence for trials and other judicial proceedings to which the Adhiniyam applies.

2. Application to judicial proceedings

Sub-section (2) applies the BSA to all judicial proceedings in or before any Court, including Courts-martial. For this purpose, Section 2(1)(a) of the BSA defines Court to include all Judges and Magistrates, and all persons, except arbitrators, legally authorised to take evidence.

This means that the BSA is primarily concerned with rules governing proof and admissibility of evidence in judicial proceedings before legally authorised adjudicatory bodies falling within the statutory definition of Court.

3. Proceedings expressly excluded

Section 1(2) expressly provides that the BSA does not apply to:

• affidavits presented to any Court or officer; and
• proceedings before an arbitrator.

These exclusions are part of the text of Section 1 itself and should be considered before applying an evidentiary provision of the BSA to a particular proceeding.

4. Commencement from 1 July 2024

Sub-section (3) authorised the Central Government to appoint the commencement date by notification in the Official Gazette. By Notification S.O. 849(E), dated 23 February 2024, the Central Government appointed 1 July 2024 as the date on which the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023 came into force.

Which evidence law applies to pending proceedings?

Section 170 of the BSA repeals the Indian Evidence Act, 1872. However, it also provides that an application, trial, inquiry, investigation, proceeding or appeal that was pending immediately before the BSA came into force is to continue under the Indian Evidence Act, 1872, as if the BSA had not come into force.

Accordingly, determining whether the BSA or the Indian Evidence Act, 1872 applies may require checking whether the relevant proceeding was already pending immediately before 1 July 2024.

Section 1 BSA at a glance

Related provision

For statutory definitions used throughout the Adhiniyam, see Section 2 - Definitions. The definition of Court in Section 2 is particularly relevant when reading the scope of Section 1.