Section 135 BSA 2023: Production of Title-Deeds of Witness Not a Party
Section 135 of the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023 protects a witness who is not a party to a suit from being compelled to produce specified title-related or potentially incriminating documents, unless the statutory condition of a written agreement to produce them is satisfied.
Current law: The Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023 is Act No. 47 of 2023 and came into force on 1 July 2024. Section 135 falls in Chapter IX, "Of Witnesses".
Text of Section 135 of the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023
135. Production of title-deeds of witness not a party.
No witness who is not a party to a suit shall be compelled to produce his title-deeds to any property, or any document in virtue of which he holds any property as pledgee or mortgagee or any document the production of which might tend to criminate him, unless he has agreed in writing to produce them with the person seeking the production of such deeds or some person through whom he claims.
Meaning and scope of Section 135 BSA
The provision creates a limited protection against compulsory production of certain documents by a witness who is not a party to the suit. Its purpose is to prevent a non-party witness from being forced, merely because the witness has been summoned, to disclose title documents or other protected documents covered by the section.
Key requirements
- The person must be a witness who is not a party to the suit.
- The protection extends to title-deeds to property.
- It also extends to a document by virtue of which the witness holds property as a pledgee or mortgagee.
- The section further covers a document whose production might tend to criminate the witness.
- The protection does not apply where the witness has agreed in writing to produce the documents with the person seeking production, or with a person through whom that person claims.
Who is protected?
The protection is expressly available to a witness who is not a party to the suit. A person who is only called as a witness does not, by that fact alone, lose control over the classes of documents specifically protected by Section 135.
Documents covered by Section 135
The provision refers to three principal categories: title-deeds relating to property, documents under which the witness holds property as pledgee or mortgagee, and documents whose production might tend to criminate the witness. Whether a particular document falls within the section depends on its character and the circumstances in which production is sought.
Exception: written agreement to produce
A non-party witness may be compelled to produce the protected documents where the witness has agreed in writing to produce them with the person seeking production, or with a person through whom the person seeking production claims. The requirement of a written agreement is therefore central to the statutory exception.
Related provisions
Section 135 should be read with the surrounding provisions in Chapter IX of the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023, including Section 134 on confidential communication with legal advisers, Section 136 on production of documents or electronic records which another person could refuse to produce, and Section 137 on answers that may criminate a witness.
Official legal sources
For the authoritative text and commencement information, refer to the official Government sources linked in the sidebar, including India Code and the Ministry of Home Affairs.