Section 96 BSA 2023: Exclusion of Evidence to Explain or Amend Ambiguous Document
Section 96 of the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023 deals with documents whose language is ambiguous or defective on the face of the document itself. In such a case, external evidence cannot be used to explain what the document means or to supply what is missing.
Text of Section 96
96. Exclusion of evidence to explain or amend ambiguous document.
When the language used in a document is, on its face, ambiguous or defective, evidence may not be given of facts which would show its meaning or supply its defects.
Illustrations under Section 96
Illustration (a): A agrees, in writing, to sell a horse to B for "one lakh rupees or one lakh fifty thousand rupees". Evidence cannot be given to show which price was to be given.
Illustration (b): A deed contains blanks. Evidence cannot be given of facts which would show how they were meant to be filled.
Meaning and scope of Section 96
The section applies where the defect or ambiguity is apparent from the document itself. The rule prevents a party from using oral or other external evidence to rewrite an uncertain document, select between two inconsistent meanings stated on its face, or fill a blank that the document itself leaves unresolved.
In practical terms, the court first looks at the language of the document. If the wording is facially ambiguous or defective, Section 96 bars evidence intended merely to cure that defect by adding a meaning that the document does not clearly express.
Key legal points
- The ambiguity or defect must be visible on the face of the document.
- External evidence cannot be used merely to choose between inconsistent alternatives written into the document.
- External evidence cannot ordinarily be used simply to fill blanks in a defective document.
- The provision should be read with Sections 94 to 103 of the BSA, which regulate when documentary terms prevail and when explanatory evidence may or may not be received.
- Section 96 concerns interpretation of documentary language; it does not itself determine whether the document has been validly executed, proved, stamped or registered under other applicable laws.
Section 96 and nearby BSA provisions
Section 96 is part of a sequence of provisions governing documentary evidence. Section 94 deals with proof of terms of contracts and other dispositions reduced to documentary form, while Section 95 generally excludes evidence of oral agreements that would contradict, vary, add to or subtract from the terms of such documents, subject to its provisos. Sections 97 to 101 then deal with different forms of uncertainty or application of documentary language.
Official source
For the authoritative text and current legislative status, refer to the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023 on India Code.