Section 112 BSA 2023: Burden of Proof as to Partnership, Tenancy and Agency Relationships
Section 112 of the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023 deals with the burden of proof where persons have been shown to act as partners, landlord and tenant, or principal and agent. Once such a relationship is shown, the person asserting that the relationship does not exist or has ceased must prove that assertion.
Text of Section 112
Section 112 - Burden of proof as to relationship in the cases of partners, landlord and tenant, principal and agent.
When the question is whether persons are partners, landlord and tenant, or principal and agent, and it has been shown that they have been acting as such, the burden of proving that they do not stand, or have ceased to stand, to each other in those relationships respectively, is on the person who affirms it.
What Section 112 means
The section creates a specific rule about the burden of proof. It applies after evidence has shown that the parties were acting in one of the relationships identified in the provision. At that stage, the law places the burden on the person who says that the relationship never legally existed, no longer exists, or has otherwise ceased.
In practical terms, proof of conduct consistent with partnership, tenancy or agency shifts the evidentiary burden to the party denying the continuance of that relationship.
Relationships covered by Section 112
- Partners: Where persons have been acting as partners, a person asserting that the partnership does not exist or has ended must prove that assertion.
- Landlord and tenant: Where the parties have been acting as landlord and tenant, the party alleging that the tenancy does not exist or has terminated bears the burden of proving it.
- Principal and agent: Where one person has been acting as principal and another as agent, the person alleging that the agency did not exist or has ceased must establish that fact.
When the rule becomes relevant
Section 112 does not dispense with the need to first show facts indicating that the parties were acting in the relevant relationship. The special burden arises only after that foundational fact has been shown. Evidence may include agreements, correspondence, receipts, accounts, conduct, authority given or exercised, payment records, possession, rent-related documents or other admissible material relevant to the relationship in dispute.
Corresponding provision under the former Evidence Act
Section 112 BSA corresponds in substance to Section 109 of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872. The BSA replaced the Indian Evidence Act framework for proceedings to which the new law applies from 1 July 2024, subject to the statutory savings and transitional provisions.
Related BSA provisions
Section 112 should be read in the wider context of Chapter VII on burden of proof. The neighboring provisions include Section 111 on a person not heard of for seven years, Section 113 on ownership, and Section 114 on proof of good faith where one party stands in a position of active confidence.
Official legal source
For the authoritative text, commencement details and the complete statute, refer to the official India Code page for the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023.
This page is intended as a legal information resource. The application of evidentiary rules depends on the facts, the nature of the proceeding and the applicable law.