New Delhi | Following are the key points of the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam (BSA)-2023, which was passed by the Lok Sabha on Wednesday and seeks to replace the Indian Evidence Act of 1872.
* Two new sections and six new sub-sections have been added in the proposed law
* Five new explanations are added, four explanations deleted
* Two new provisos are added, 24 provisions are modified
* Total six sections are deleted
Major Changes:
* Electronic record included in the definition of 'document'
* Statements received electronically included in the definition of 'evidence'
* Added more standards for considering electronic and digital records as primary evidence laying emphasis on its proper custody, storage, transmission, and broadcast
* Added more kinds of secondary evidence to include oral and written admissions and evidence of a skilled person to examine documents which cannot conveniently be examined by court.
* Established the legal admissibility, validity, and enforceability of electronic or digital record as evidence
* Inclusion of husband/wife as competent witness in criminal proceedings against the spouse
* Conviction based on corroborated testimony of accomplice has been made legal
* Comprehensive certificate for submitting electronic evidence added in the schedule
Minor Changes:
* References to colonial terminology done away with
* Language modernized and made gender sensitive.
