Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023
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.
Why this exists
This rule comes from the Indian Evidence Act, 1872 (Section 163), and has been carried forward almost word-for-word into the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023. It exists to prevent a party from using the threat of a document's existence to pressure the other side, inspecting it privately, and then quietly dropping it if it turns out to be unhelpful to their case. Once you've called for a document, looked at it, and the other side wants it on record, fairness requires that you actually put it into evidence rather than suppress it.
How courts read it
Under the corresponding Section 163 of the Indian Evidence Act, courts have held that mere production and inspection of a document does not automatically make it evidence — the obligation to tender it arises only if the party who produced it insists on this. Courts have also clarified that inspecting a document out of curiosity or for a limited purpose does not by itself bind the inspecting party unless the producing party specifically calls upon them to exhibit it as evidence.
Common misconceptions
- Myth: Just producing a document in response to a notice makes it automatic evidence.
Fact: Courts have clarified that production alone doesn't make it evidence — it becomes evidence only if the party who produced it insists that the other side tender it. - Myth: Once you inspect a document, you must always use it as evidence, even if no one asks you to.
Fact: The obligation only arises if the producing party specifically requires the inspecting party to give it as evidence.