Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023
Section 13 BSA 2023: Facts Bearing on Whether an Act Was Accidental or Intentional
Section 13 of the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023 (BSA) makes a series of similar occurrences relevant when the Court has to decide whether a disputed act was accidental, intentional, or done with particular knowledge or intention. The provision is part of the law governing relevancy of facts in judicial proceedings.
| Law | Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023 |
|---|---|
| Act number | Act No. 47 of 2023 |
| Section | Section 13 |
| Subject | Facts bearing on question whether act was accidental or intentional |
| In force from | 1 July 2024 |
| Earlier corresponding provision | Section 15 of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872 |
Text of Section 13, Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023
13. When there is a question whether an act was accidental or intentional, or done with a particular knowledge or intention, the fact that such act formed part of a series of similar occurrences, in each of which the person doing the act was concerned, is relevant.
Illustrations to Section 13 BSA
Illustration (a): Insurance fires. A is accused of burning down his house in order to obtain money for which it is insured. The facts that A lived in several houses successively, each of which he insured, in each of which a fire occurred, and after each of which fires A received payment from a different insurance company, are relevant, as tending to show that the fires were not accidental.
Illustration (b): False entries in accounts. A is employed to receive money from the debtors of B. It is A's duty to make entries in a book showing the amounts received by him. He makes an entry showing that on a particular occasion he received less than he really did receive. The question is whether this false entry was accidental or intentional. The facts that other entries made by A in the same book are false, and that the false entry is in each case in favour of A, are relevant.
Illustration (c): Counterfeit currency. A is accused of fraudulently delivering to B a counterfeit currency. The question is whether the delivery of the currency was accidental. The facts that, soon before or soon after the delivery to B, A delivered counterfeit currency to C, D and E are relevant, as showing that the delivery to B was not accidental.
Meaning and scope of Section 13 BSA
Section 13 addresses a specific evidentiary problem: a single act may appear capable of an innocent or accidental explanation, but a repeated pattern of substantially similar occurrences involving the same person may make accident less probable and intention or knowledge more probable.
The provision therefore permits evidence of a series of similar occurrences where the disputed question concerns accident, intention, or particular knowledge. The earlier occurrences are not relevant merely because they show a person's general character or disposition. Their relevance arises from the similarity and pattern connecting them with the act in issue.
Essential requirements for applying Section 13
For Section 13 to become relevant, the Court ordinarily considers whether the following features are present:
- There is a real question whether the act in issue was accidental or intentional, or was done with a particular knowledge or intention.
- The disputed act forms part of a series of similar occurrences.
- The same person was concerned in the similar occurrences.
- The similarity and surrounding circumstances are sufficient to make the pattern probative of accident, intention, or knowledge.
- The evidence must still satisfy the general rules of admissibility and be assessed for its proper evidentiary weight.
Why similar occurrences can be relevant
The evidentiary logic behind Section 13 is probability. A single unusual event can happen accidentally. Repetition of substantially similar events, especially where the same person benefits from or participates in each event, can reduce the probability of innocent coincidence. The illustrations supplied by the statute demonstrate this principle through repeated insured fires, repeated false accounting entries, and repeated delivery of counterfeit currency.
Section 13 and the former Indian Evidence Act, 1872
Section 13 BSA carries forward the substance of Section 15 of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872, which dealt with facts bearing on whether an act was accidental or intentional. The Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam replaced the Indian Evidence Act as the governing central evidence law from 1 July 2024.
Practical point: Section 13 concerns relevancy, not automatic proof of guilt or liability. The Court must still evaluate the quality of the evidence, the degree of similarity between occurrences, the surrounding circumstances, and the other evidence on record.
Related BSA provisions
Section 13 should be read in the wider sequence of provisions dealing with relevant facts. The immediately preceding and succeeding provisions include Section 12 on facts showing a state of mind or body and Section 14 on the existence of a course of business.
Next: Section 14 BSA - Existence of course of business when relevant.