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PART III ON PROOF · CHAPTER V OF DOCUMENTARY EVIDENCE

Section 64: Rules as to notice to produce

The Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023

Secondary evidence of the contents of the documents referred to in clause (a) of section 60, shall not be given unless the party proposing to give such secondary evidence has previously given to the party in whose possession or power the document is, or to his advocate or representative, such notice to produce it as is prescribed by law; and if no notice is prescribed by law, then such notice as the Court considers reasonable under the circumstances of the case:

Provided that such notice shall not be required in order to render secondary evidence admissible in any of the following cases, or in any other case in which the Court thinks fit to dispense with it:—

(a) when the document to be proved is itself a notice;

(b) when, from the nature of the case, the adverse party must know that he will be required to produce it;

(c) when it appears or is proved that the adverse party has obtained possession of the original by fraud or force;

(d) when the adverse party or his agent has the original in Court;

(e) when the adverse party or his agent has admitted the loss of the document;

(f) when the person in possession of the document is out of reach of, or not subject to, the process of the Court.

Corresponding Evidence Act provision

As given in the correspondence table of the National Crime Records Bureau (Ministry of Home Affairs). Read both texts before relying on it. NCRB table

6466. Rules as to notice to produce.

Questions on this section

2 questions in 14 of our papers cite Section 64. Try these from the free papers:

  1. 1. A landlord served a written notice to quit on his tenant and kept an office copy. In the landlord's eviction suit, the original notice is with the tenant. The landlord seeks to prove it by the office copy without first giving the tenant notice to produce the original. Under Section 64 of the BSA:

  2. 2. Under the proviso to Section 64 of the BSA, notice to produce is NOT required before giving secondary evidence of a document in which of the following cases?

Practise questions on Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam