Section 155 BSA 2023: Questions Intended to Insult or Annoy
Section 155 of the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023 protects witnesses from questions that are intended to insult or annoy them and from questions that, even if otherwise proper, are needlessly offensive in the way they are put. The provision gives the Court a mandatory duty to stop such questioning.
Text of Section 155
155. Questions intended to insult or annoy. The Court shall forbid any question which appears to it to be intended to insult or annoy, or which, though proper in itself, appears to the Court needlessly offensive in form.
Meaning of Section 155 BSA
The section regulates the manner in which a witness may be questioned in court. It recognises that cross-examination may be searching and firm, but it cannot be used as a means of humiliation, harassment or needless personal offence.
The words "shall forbid" make the Court's intervention mandatory when a question appears to fall within Section 155. The focus is not only on whether a question has some legal relevance, but also on its purpose and the manner in which it is framed.
When the Court must forbid a question
- Question intended to insult: A question whose apparent purpose is to demean, humiliate or disparage the witness rather than fairly test the evidence.
- Question intended to annoy: A question used to irritate, harass or provoke the witness without a legitimate evidentiary purpose.
- Needlessly offensive form: A question may relate to a proper subject but still be prohibited if it is expressed in an unnecessarily offensive manner.
Purpose of the provision
Section 155 balances the right to test a witness's evidence with the Court's duty to maintain fairness and dignity in judicial proceedings. It does not prevent legitimate cross-examination. Instead, it requires proper questions to be put in a proper form and prevents questioning that crosses into insult, annoyance or needless offensiveness.
How Section 155 works with nearby provisions
Section 155 forms part of a group of provisions controlling improper questions to witnesses. The surrounding sections help distinguish between questions lacking reasonable grounds, indecent or scandalous questions, and questions intended to insult or annoy.
- Section 151 deals with the Court's control over when certain questions may be asked and when a witness may be compelled to answer.
- Section 152 prohibits specified questions from being asked without reasonable grounds.
- Section 153 provides the procedure where a question is asked without reasonable grounds.
- Section 154 concerns indecent and scandalous questions.
- Section 156 deals with exclusion of evidence offered to contradict answers to certain questions testing veracity.
Practical effect in court proceedings
If a question is objectionable under Section 155, the Court may stop it before the witness answers or prevent repetition of the same line of questioning in an insulting or needlessly offensive form. A party or advocate may draw the Court's attention to the objection, but the statutory duty ultimately rests with the Court.
Key point
Section 155 does not make every uncomfortable question impermissible. A relevant and lawful question may still be asked where justified, but its form and purpose must remain consistent with fair examination of the witness.
Official legal sources
For the authoritative text and commencement notification, refer to the official Government of India sources listed in the sidebar. The Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023 came into force on 1 July 2024.
This page is intended for general legal information. For a case-specific issue involving examination or cross-examination of a witness, the facts, the nature of the proceeding and the Court's directions should be considered.