Section 59

Courts need reliable proof of what a document actually says, and originals are the most trustworthy source since copies can be altered, mistyped, or incomplete. This principle comes from English common law evidence rules and was carried into the Indian Evidence Act, 1872 (as Section 64), and now continues in the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023 as Section 59, keeping the same core rule while modernising the surrounding provisions for electronic records.

Under the old Section 64 of the Evidence Act, courts consistently held that the 'best evidence rule' requires the original document unless one of the recognised exceptions (like loss, destruction, or the document being in the possession of the opposite party) applies. Judgments emphasized that secondary evidence cannot be let in casually — a party must first lay the foundation showing why the original cannot be produced. These interpretive principles are expected to continue guiding courts under the renumbered Section 59 of the BSA, 2023, though it is too early for a distinct body of case law under the new Act.

• Myth: A photocopy or scanned copy is always good enough to prove what a document says.
  Fact: Courts require the original document (primary evidence) unless a specific legal exception allows secondary evidence like copies.
• Myth: This rule only applies to paper documents.
  Fact: The broader scheme of the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023 also addresses electronic records, and similar 'best evidence' principles extend to them under related provisions, though this specific section focuses on the general primary evidence rule.