Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam – Law & Practice

Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023 – Law & Practice is a comprehensive, authoritative, and practice-driven commentary on India's new law of evidence, enacted to replace the Indian Evidence Act 1872 and brought into force with effect from 1^st July 2024. The Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam (BSA) 2023 marks a decisive shift from a colonial-era evidentiary framework to a modern, technology-responsive, and fairness-oriented regime aligned with contemporary criminal justice realities. This work treats the BSA not as a standalone statute, but as a functional pillar of the new criminal law ecosystem, operating in close conjunction with the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita 2023 (BNS) and the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Adhiniyam 2023 (BNSS). It recognises that evidentiary law is neither substantive nor procedural in isolation, but an 'adjective law' that operationalises both, determining how rights, liabilities, and offences are proved, contested, and adjudicated in court. The book is meticulously designed as a transition companion, interpretative authority, and courtroom manual, enabling readers to seamlessly migrate from the Evidence Act 1872 to the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam 2023 without losing doctrinal continuity or practical certainty.

This book is intended for the following audience:

• Judges & Magistrates – For principled appreciation of evidence, evaluation of probative value, application of presumptions, and exercise of judicial discretion under the new statutory framework
• Advocates & Trial Lawyers – For framing proof, handling admissibility objections, examining witnesses, and arguing evidentiary issues in trial and appellate proceedings
• Public Prosecutors & Defence Counsel – For aligning evidentiary strategy with the legislative intent and restructured provisions of the BSA
• Investigating Officers & Law-Enforcement Agencies – For understanding legally sustainable evidence collection, documentation, certification, and presentation, particularly in digital and forensic contexts
• Academicians, Researchers & Law Students – For in-depth conceptual understanding, comparative study, and examination-oriented mastery of modern evidence law