Section 134 BSA 2023: Confidential Communication with Legal Advisers
Section 134 of the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023 protects a person from being compelled to disclose confidential communications with a legal adviser, subject to a limited exception when that person chooses to give evidence as a witness.
Correct statute: Section 134 belongs to the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023 (BSA), not the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023.
Text of Section 134 - Confidential communication with legal advisers
134. No one shall be compelled to disclose to the Court any confidential communication which has taken place between him and his legal adviser, unless he offers himself as a witness, in which case he may be compelled to disclose any such communications as may appear to the Court necessary to be known in order to explain any evidence which he has given, but no others.
Meaning and scope of Section 134 BSA
Section 134 creates a rule against compelled disclosure of confidential communications between a person and that person's legal adviser. Its focus is on protecting the person who received or made the confidential communication from being forced to reveal it to the Court.
The protection is not expressed as an absolute bar in every circumstance. The section itself provides a specific witness-related exception. If the person voluntarily offers himself or herself as a witness, the Court may require disclosure of a confidential communication only to the extent the Court considers it necessary to explain evidence already given by that witness.
Key point: Merely becoming a witness does not make every communication with a legal adviser disclosable. Section 134 limits compelled disclosure to communications that the Court considers necessary to explain the witness's evidence.
Meaning of "Court" under the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam
Section 2(1)(a) of the BSA defines "Court" to include all Judges and Magistrates, and all persons, except arbitrators, legally authorised to take evidence. This definition helps identify the judicial setting in which the protection under Section 134 operates.
What happens when the person offers himself or herself as a witness?
When the person does not offer himself or herself as a witness, Section 134 states that the person shall not be compelled to disclose the confidential communication to the Court. When the person does become a witness, the Court may compel disclosure only of such communications as appear necessary to explain evidence given by that witness.
The statutory wording therefore ties the exception to necessity and to the evidence actually given. It does not state that all lawyer-client communications become open to disclosure simply because the client enters the witness box.
Related provisions on legal professional communications
Section 134 should be read with the surrounding BSA provisions dealing with professional communications and privilege. In particular, Section 132 - Professional communications regulates disclosure by advocates and extends to interpreters and the clerks or employees of advocates. Section 133 - Privilege not waived by volunteering evidence addresses when privilege is, and is not, treated as waived by a party giving evidence or calling an advocate as a witness.
| Provision | Subject | Practical focus |
|---|---|---|
| Section 132 | Professional communications | Restrictions on disclosure by advocates, with statutory exceptions. |
| Section 133 | Privilege not waived by volunteering evidence | When giving evidence or calling an advocate does not by itself amount to consent to disclosure. |
| Section 134 | Confidential communication with legal advisers | Protection against compelled disclosure by the person, subject to the limited witness exception. |
Official text and commencement
The Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023 is Act No. 47 of 2023. The Central Government appointed 1 July 2024 as the date on which its provisions came into force. For the authoritative statutory text, refer to India Code - Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023. The commencement notification is also available through the Ministry of Home Affairs.
Related BSA sections
- Section 131 - Information as to commission of offences
- Section 132 - Professional communications
- Section 133 - Privilege not waived by volunteering evidence
- Section 135 - Production of title-deeds of witness not a party
- Section 136 - Production of documents or electronic records which another person could refuse to produce
- Section 137 - Witness not excused from answering on ground that answer will criminate
- Section 138 - Accomplice
- Section 139 - Number of witnesses
- Section 140 - Order of production and examination of witnesses
This page provides general legal information based on the statutory text. For application to a particular case, the facts, pleadings, applicable procedural law, and judicial decisions may also require consideration.