CHAPTER II.––OF THE RELEVANCY OF FACTS · STATEMENTS MADE UNDER SPECIAL CIRCUMSTANCES

Section 34: Entries in books of account when relevant

The Indian Evidence Act, 1872 (repealed)

Repealed by the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023 (47 of 2023) with effect from 1 July 2024.

¹[Entries in the books of account, including those maintained in an electronic form], regularly kept in the course of business, are relevant whenever they refer to a matter into which the Court has to inquire, but such statements shall not alone be sufficient evidence to charge any person with liability.

Illustration

A sues B for Rs. 1,000, and shows entries in his account books showing B to be indebted to him to this amount. The entries are relevant, but are not sufficient, without other evidence, to prove the debt.

Footnotes in the official text

1.Subs. by Act 21 of 2000, s. 92 and the Second Schedule, for “entries in the books of account” (w.e.f. 17-10-2000).

Now in the BSA

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

34. Entries in books of account, including when relevant.

BSA 28

Questions on this section

2 questions in 13 of our papers cite Section 34. Try these from the free papers:

1. In Central Bureau of Investigation v. V.C. Shukla (1998), where diaries, notebooks and loose sheets recovered in a search were relied upon under Section 34 of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872 (now Section 28 of the BSA), the Supreme Court held that:

Practise questions on Criminal Law