Section 166 BSA 2023: Giving as Evidence of Document Called for and Produced on Notice

Section 166 of the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023 deals with the evidentiary consequence of calling for a document after giving notice to the opposite party and then inspecting the document when it is produced.

Updated: September 13, 2026

What Section 166 of the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023 provides

Section 166 - Giving, as evidence, of document called for and produced on notice.

When a party calls for a document which he has given the other party notice to produce, and such document is produced and inspected by the party calling for its production, he is bound to give it as evidence if the party producing it requires him to do so.

Meaning and legal effect of Section 166

The provision applies where one party has formally required the other party to produce a document. If the document is produced and the requesting party inspects it, the requesting party cannot freely avoid its evidentiary use if the producing party requires that it be given in evidence.

In practical terms, Section 166 prevents a party from calling for and inspecting a document and then attempting to keep that document outside the evidentiary record merely because its contents may not support that party's case. The rule promotes procedural fairness in the production and use of documentary evidence.

Conditions for Section 166 to apply

A party must call for a document from the other party.
The calling party must have given notice to the other party to produce that document.
The document must actually be produced.
The party calling for it must inspect the produced document.
If the producing party then requires it, the calling party is bound to give the document in evidence.

Relationship with Sections 165 and 167 BSA

Section 166 should be read with the surrounding provisions dealing with production and use of documents. Section 165 BSA concerns production of documents, while Section 167 BSA addresses the consequence where a party refuses to produce a document after receiving notice to produce it.

When did the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023 come into force?

The Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023 is Act No. 47 of 2023. The Central Government appointed July 1, 2024 as the date on which its provisions came into force.

Important: Section 166 belongs to the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023, not the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023. It is an evidence-law provision concerning the use of a document produced after notice.

Official text

For the authoritative statutory text, refer to the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023 on India Code.

Related BSA provisions

Readers may also refer to Section 161, Section 162, Section 163, Section 164, Section 165, Section 167, Section 168, Section 169 and Section 170.