BSA §137
A witness shall not be excused from answering any question as to.
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Comparison
132. Witness not excused from answering on ground that answer will criminate. –– A witness shall not be excused from answering any question as to any matter relevant to the matter in issue in any suit or in any civil or criminal proceeding, upon the ground that the answer to such question will criminate, or may tend directly or indirectly to criminate, such witness, or that it will expose, or tend directly or indirectly to expose, such witness to a penalty or forfeiture of any kind: Proviso. –– Provided that no such answer, which a witness shall be compelled to give, shall subject him to any arrest or prosecution, or be proved against him in any criminal proceeding, except a prosecution for giving false evidence by such answer.
137. A witness shall not be excused from answering any question as to any matter relevant to the matter in issue in any suit or in any civil or criminal proceeding, upon the ground that the answer to such question will criminate, or may tend directly or indirectly to criminate, such witness, or that it will expose, or tend directly or indirectly to expose, such witness to a penalty or forfeiture of any kind: Provided that no such answer, which a witness shall be compelled to give, shall subject him to any arrest or prosecution, or be proved against him in any criminal proceeding, except a prosecution forgiving false evidence by such answer. Privilege not waived by volunteering evidence. Confidential communication with legal advisers. Production of title-deeds of witness not a party. Production of documents or electronic records which another person, having possession, could refuse to produce. Witness not excused from answering on ground that answer will criminate.
What changedAI-inferred
Witness not excused from answering on ground that answer will criminate.
Old position
IEA 132 is concerned with Witness not excused from answering on ground that answer will criminate. Proviso. Witness not excused from answering on ground that answer will criminate
New position
BSA 138 preserves the framework with drafting modernisations as required by the new code. Topic: An accomplice shall be a competent witness against an accused person. An accomplice shall be a competent witness against an accused person; and a conviction is not illegal if it proceeds upon the corroborated testimony of an accomplice
BSA 138 (An accomplice shall be a competent witness against an accused person) preserves the framework of IEA 132. BSA 138 retains the operative provisions in substantively the same form, with drafting modernisation and structural updates as required by the new code. BSA 138 text: An accomplice...
Editorial deltaAI-indicated (source-linked)
BSA-137 reproduces the operative content of IEA-132 (Witness not excused from answering on ground that answer will criminate. Proviso) with text-overlap 0.82 on the supplied bare-act extracts. The original PRS-chart-based pairing (BSA-138) appears to have been a parsing artifact: text-comparison shows that destination has a different topic. The corrected pairing reflects the actual section-content correspondence. Cross-references may need to be remapped per locked doctrine #11.
Transitional note (repeal & savings)
For matters initiated before 1 July 2024, IEA 132 continues to apply. For matters from that date forward, BSA 138 applies. The transition is governed by the repeal-and-savings clause in the new code (BNS 358 / BNSS 531 / BSA 170 as the case may be); pending proceedings under the old code carry forward unaffected.
Frequently asked
BSA 138 (An accomplice shall be a competent witness against an accused person). The relationship is classified as substantively_same — see the change-note above for the textual delta.
Government source
The statutory text above is compiled from the Act as published by the Government of India. The links open the full Act; use the PDF's search to find the section number. The linked government pages offer no link to a single section.
Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023 · §137
View government sourcemha.gov.in(opens the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023 PDF on mha.gov.in in a new tab)Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India · PDF
Indian Evidence Act, 1872 · §132
View government sourcelddashboard.legislative.gov.in(opens the Indian Evidence Act, 1872 Web page on lddashboard.legislative.gov.in in a new tab)Legislative Department, Ministry of Law and Justice, Government of India · Web page
Newlaws.in is an independent site, not a government body. The mappings and notes on this page are its own AI-assisted comparison and are not published or endorsed by any government body.
Sources
- India Code — Indian Evidence Act, 1872
- Gazette of India — Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023
Cite this page
Newlaws.in, IEA §132 → BSA §137 Mapping Page, last updated 2026-05-01, accessed 2026-10-29, https://newlaws.in/bsa/137.
Compiled using AI-assisted tools · Source-linked · Last updated 2026-05-01
Not legal advice. Verify against the bare act and consult a qualified advocate for any specific matter.