Indian Evidence Act (IEA) to Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam (BSA) Section Mapping — Complete Conversion Table

The Indian Evidence Act, 1872 (IEA) was repealed and replaced by the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023 (BSA; Act No. 47 of 2023) with effect from 1 July 2024. The IEA's sections were numbered 1 to 167, with 18 lettered sections added within that range (such as 65A and 65B); the BSA has 170 sections. Most IEA provisions carry over with new numbers. The main textual changes concern electronic and digital records (BSA s.2(1)(d), s.57 Explanations 4–7, the new s.61, and s.63 with the certificate in the Schedule), the folding of the definitions in IEA ss.3–4 into BSA s.2, and the combining of several IEA sections into one BSA section (for example IEA ss.24, 28 and 29 into BSA s.22). Under BSA s.170(2), any application, trial, inquiry, investigation, proceeding or appeal pending immediately before the BSA came into force is dealt with under the IEA as in force immediately before that commencement.

Key Statistics

Counts below are of rows in the mapping table on this page (one row per Indian Evidence Act section, or per IEA-section-to-BSA-provision pairing), each checked against the Gazette text of the BSA and the text of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872 on 24 September 2026. They are not a count of sections in either Act.

Complete IEA to BSA Section Mapping Table

Part headings below follow the IEA (Parts I–III). The BSA places the same material in Parts II–IV, with its Part I holding only Chapter I. Chapter numbers I–XI are the same in both Acts; BSA Chapter XII (Repeal and savings) has no IEA counterpart. Titles are each Act's own section headings.

Part I — Relevancy of Facts

Chapter I — Preliminary (IEA Sections 1–4; BSA Sections 1–2)

Chapter II — Of the Relevancy of Facts (IEA Sections 5–16; BSA Sections 3–14)

Admissions (IEA Sections 17–31; BSA Sections 15–25)

Statements by Persons Who Cannot Be Called as Witnesses (IEA Sections 32–33; BSA Sections 26–27)

Statements Made Under Special Circumstances (IEA Sections 34–38; BSA Sections 28–32)

How Much of a Statement Is to Be Proved (IEA Section 39; BSA Section 33)

Judgments of Courts When Relevant (IEA Sections 40–44; BSA Sections 34–38)

Opinions of Third Persons When Relevant (IEA Sections 45–51; BSA Sections 39–45)

Character When Relevant (IEA Sections 52–55; BSA Sections 46–50)

Part II — On Proof

Chapter III — Facts Which Need Not Be Proved (IEA Sections 56–58; BSA Sections 51–53)

Chapter IV — Of Oral Evidence (IEA Sections 59–60; BSA Sections 54–55)

Chapter V — Of Documentary Evidence (IEA Sections 61–73A; BSA Sections 56–73)

Public Documents (IEA Sections 74–78; BSA Sections 74–77)

Presumptions as to Documents (IEA Sections 79–90A; BSA Sections 78–93)

Chapter VI — Of the Exclusion of Oral by Documentary Evidence (IEA Sections 91–100; BSA Sections 94–103)

Part III — Production and Effect of Evidence

Chapter VII — Of the Burden of Proof (IEA Sections 101–114A; BSA Sections 104–120)

Chapter VIII — Estoppel (IEA Sections 115–117; BSA Sections 121–123)

Chapter IX — Of Witnesses (IEA Sections 118–134; BSA Sections 124–139)

Chapter X — Of the Examination of Witnesses (IEA Sections 135–166; BSA Sections 140–168)

Chapter XI — Of Improper Admission and Rejection of Evidence (IEA Section 167; BSA Section 169)

Chapter XII — Repeal and Savings (BSA Section 170; no IEA counterpart)

New BSA Provisions (No IEA Equivalent)

Principal additions inside carried-over sections (each has an IEA predecessor, so these are not new sections):

IEA Sections Abolished (No BSA Equivalent)

Key Thematic Changes

1. Electronic and Digital Evidence

The largest set of textual changes in the BSA concerns electronic evidence:

• Section 2(1)(d) (Definitions): "document" now "includes electronic and digital records", and Illustration (vi) lists emails, server logs, documents on computers, laptop or smartphone, messages, websites, locational evidence and voice mail messages stored on digital devices
• Section 57 (Primary Evidence): four new Explanations (4 to 7) on when electronic or digital records are primary evidence, including video recordings stored and transmitted at the same time
• Section 58 (Secondary Evidence): adds oral admissions, written admissions and the evidence of a person skilled in examining voluminous documents
• Section 61 (new): admissibility of an electronic or digital record is not to be denied because it is one
• Section 63 (Admissibility of Electronic Records): extends to communication devices, treats devices used together as a single device, and requires the certificate in the Schedule to accompany the electronic record at each instance

2. Definitions Restructured

IEA s.3 set out its definitions as separate paragraphs, and IEA s.4 separately defined "may presume", "shall presume" and "conclusive proof". BSA s.2(1) sets all of them out as lettered clauses (a) to (l), and s.2(2) gives words not defined in the BSA the meanings they carry in the Information Technology Act, 2000, the BNSS 2023 and the BNS 2023.

3. Colonial References Removed and Sections Without a Counterpart

• IEA Section 82 (documents admissible in England or Ireland), Section 88 (telegraphic messages), Section 113 (cession of territory) and Section 166 (jury or assessors) — no BSA counterpart
• IEA Section 86 → BSA Section 88: "not forming part of India or of Her Majesty's Dominions" becomes "beyond India" / "outside India"
• IEA Sections 57, 78 and 81 → BSA Sections 52, 77 and 80: references to the Parliament of the United Kingdom, the British Sovereign, the Privy Council, the Crown Representative and the London Gazette removed

4. Expert Evidence Expanded

BSA Section 39(1) extends expert opinion to "any other field", in addition to foreign law, science or art and questions of handwriting or finger impressions (IEA Section 45). BSA Section 39(2) carries over IEA Section 45A (opinion of the Examiner of Electronic Evidence under s.79A of the Information Technology Act, 2000), including its Explanation that such an Examiner shall be an expert, which IEA s.45A already contained.

5. Confession Provisions Consolidated

IEA Sections 24, 28 and 29 are combined in BSA Section 22, which adds "coercion" to inducement, threat or promise; IEA Sections 28 and 29 become its two provisos. IEA Sections 25, 26 and 27 are combined in BSA Section 23: Section 25 becomes Section 23(1), Section 26 becomes Section 23(2), and the discovery rule in Section 27 becomes the proviso to Section 23(2).

6. Accomplice Evidence Reworded

IEA Section 133 provided that a conviction "is not illegal merely because it proceeds upon the uncorroborated testimony of an accomplice". BSA Section 138 provides that a conviction "is not illegal if it proceeds upon the corroborated testimony of an accomplice". See hostile witness and accomplice evidence under the BSA.

How to Use This Table

Transitional applicability: BSA s.170(2) provides that any application, trial, inquiry, investigation, proceeding or appeal pending immediately before the BSA came into force (1 July 2024) is to be dealt with under the Indian Evidence Act, 1872, as in force immediately before that commencement, as if the BSA had not come into force. On a reading of s.170(2), matters not pending on that date are governed by the BSA. See offence before 1 July 2024 — which law applies.

Finding a section: Use your browser's search function (Ctrl+F / Cmd+F) to locate any IEA or BSA section number.

Change type guide:

• identical: Text carried over unchanged apart from renumbering, punctuation or layout (a changed heading is noted)
• minor-edit: Drafting changes only — updated cross-references, terminology ("Act" → "Adhiniyam", "pleader" → "advocate"), numbering or illustrations
• modified: A change to the operative words of the provision
• expanded: New sub-sections, explanations, provisos or wider coverage added
• narrowed: Coverage reduced
• merged: Two or more IEA sections combined into one BSA section
• new-provision: BSA section with no IEA predecessor
• abolished: IEA section with no BSA successor

Internal links: Section-level comparison pages use flat URLs of the form /old-law-new-law/{slug} — for example electronic records (IEA 65A–65B), WhatsApp chats, emails and screenshots as evidence, proving documents and secondary evidence and dying declarations.

Section-by-section pages

In-depth pages for individual provisions, ordered by old section number. Each page sets out the statutory text of both Acts, what changed, how the provision works and the Supreme Court judgments on it.

• Section 1 Evidence Act vs Section 1 BSA — Short Title, Application and Commencement
• Sections 3-4 Evidence Act vs Section 2 BSA — Definitions (Proved, Document, Evidence, Presumptions)
• Section 6 IEA vs Section 4 BSA — Res Gestae: Facts Forming Part of the Same Transaction
• Section 8 IEA vs Section 6 BSA — Motive, Preparation and Previous or Subsequent Conduct
• Section 9 IEA vs Section 7 BSA — Facts Necessary to Explain or Introduce Relevant Facts
• Section 17-31 Evidence Act vs Section 15-25 BSA — Admissions and Confessions
• Sections 24-26 Evidence Act vs Sections 22-23 BSA — Confessions to Police and in Police Custody
• Section 27 Evidence Act vs Proviso to Section 23(2) BSA — Discovery Statements
• Section 32 Evidence Act vs Section 26 BSA — Dying Declaration and Statements of Persons Who Cannot Be Called
• Sections 34–41 IEA vs Sections 28–35 BSA — Statements in Special Circumstances and Judgments of Courts
• Section 45 Evidence Act vs Section 39 BSA — Expert Opinion
• Sections 56 and 57 Evidence Act vs Sections 51 and 52 BSA — Judicial Notice
• Sections 62-65B Evidence Act vs Sections 57-63 BSA — Electronic Evidence Framework
• Section 65A-65B Evidence Act vs Section 62-63 BSA — Admissibility of Electronic Records
• Sections 67–73A IEA vs Sections 65–73 BSA — Proof of Signature, Handwriting, Execution and Attestation
• Sections 76–90A IEA vs Sections 75–93 BSA — Certified Copies, Official Documents and Presumptions as to Documents
• Sections 91-92 IEA vs Sections 94-95 BSA — Exclusion of Oral by Documentary Evidence
• Section 101-105 Evidence Act vs Section 104-108 BSA — Burden of Proof
• Section 106 Evidence Act vs Section 109 BSA — Burden of Proving Fact Especially Within Knowledge
• Section 112 IEA vs Section 116 BSA — Birth During Marriage, Conclusive Proof of Legitimacy
• Section 113A-113B Evidence Act vs Section 117-118 BSA — Presumption as to Abetment of Suicide and Dowry Death
• Section 114 Evidence Act vs Section 119 BSA — Court May Presume Existence of Certain Facts
• Section 114A IEA vs Section 120 BSA — Presumption as to Absence of Consent in Certain Prosecutions for Rape
• Sections 115–117 IEA vs Sections 121–123 BSA — Estoppel, Tenant Estoppel and Estoppel of Acceptor, Bailee or Licensee
• Sections 121–132 IEA vs Sections 127–137 BSA — Privileged Communications and Witness Privileges
• Section 133 Evidence Act vs Section 138 BSA — Accomplice Evidence (with IEA 114 Illustration (b) and BSA 119)
• Sections 145, 154 and 155 IEA vs Sections 148, 157 and 158 BSA — Hostile Witness, Previous Statements and Impeaching Credit
• Section 162 IEA vs Section 165 BSA — Production of Documents
• Section 165 IEA vs Section 168 BSA — Judge's Power to Put Questions or Order Production