Relevance and use of forensic evidence under Indian Evidence Act, 1872

Your syllabus says Indian Evidence Act, 1872, your question paper may say the same, and your teacher may still say 'section 45'. Yet the law in force for trials from 1 July 2024 is the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023. So when a question asks how forensic evidence is relevant under the 1872 Act, what should you write? This topic gives you the answer in the current numbering and a map back to the old one.

In two minutes

Forensic evidence is relevant because the Act makes the opinion of a specially skilled person a relevant fact; the provision is s.45 of the 1872 Act, now s.39 of the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam 2023, supported by the sections on facts supporting the opinion, grounds, handwriting, comparison and electronic records.

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