Section 58 of the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, (BSA), 2023
Section 58 of the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023 (Indian Evidence Act, 2023) defines secondary evidence—evidence that may be presented when the original document is unavailable or inaccessible. This provision is crucial for ensuring that legal proceedings can continue even when original documents cannot be produced.
📄 What Is Secondary Evidence?
Secondary evidence refers to copies or representations of original documents that are admissible in court under specific circumstances. Section 58 enumerates various forms of secondary evidence:
Certified Copies: Copies provided by a public authority or official, attested as true copies of the original document.
Mechanical Copies: Copies made using mechanical processes (e.g., photocopies, digital scans) that ensure accuracy, and copies compared with such mechanically produced copies.
Manual Copies: Copies made by hand from the original document or compared with the original
Counterparts: Documents executed in duplicate, where one copy is in the possession of each party.
Oral Accounts: Verbal descriptions of a document's contents by someone who has seen the original.
Admissions: Oral or written statements acknowledging the existence or contents of a document.
Expert Examination: Testimony from an expert who has examined a document, especially when the original consists of numerous accounts or documents that cannot conveniently be examined in court
🧾 Illustrative Examples
Photograph of an Original: A photograph of an original document is considered secondary evidence, even if the two have not been compared, provided it is proven that the photographed item was the original
Copy Made by a Copying Machine: A copy produced by a copying machine is secondary evidence if it is shown that the copy was made from the original document.
Transcribed Copy Compared with Original: A copy transcribed from another copy, but later compared with the original, is secondary evidence. However, a copy that was not compared with the original is not considered secondary evidence, even if the copy from which it was transcribed was compared with the original
Oral Account of a Copy: An oral account of a copy compared with the original, or of a photograph or machine-copy of the original, is not secondary evidence of the original document.
⚖️ Legal Implications
Admissibility: Secondary evidence is admissible in court when the original document is unavailable, provided the conditions outlined in the Act are met.
Burden of Proof: The party presenting secondary evidence must establish the unavailability of the original document and the authenticity of the secondary evidence.
Limitations: Secondary evidence cannot be used to prove the contents of a document unless the original is shown to be inaccessible or lost, and the secondary evidence complies with the statutory requirements.
🧭 Summary
Section 58 of the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023, facilitates the use of secondary evidence in legal proceedings, ensuring that cases can proceed even when original documents are not available. By clearly defining what constitutes secondary evidence and under what circumstances it can be admitted, the Act aims to balance the need for reliable evidence with practical considerations in the judicial process.
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