Official communications
Section 130 of the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023 deals with official communications. No public officer shall be compelled to disclose communications made to him in official confidence, when he considers that the public interests would suffer by the disclosure. The Act came into force on 01 Jul 2024.
No public officer shall be compelled to disclose communications made to him in official confidence, when he considers that the public interests would suffer by the disclosure.
Section 130, The Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023 (Act 47 of 2023).
Replaces a provision of the Indian Evidence Act
IEA 124 Official communications Text carried over almost unchanged 100%
Measured by comparing the text of the two provisions, not taken from an official correspondence table — there is no machine-readable one. See both texts side by side before relying on it.
Both regimes are live. The repealed enactment still governs what happened while it was in force. We never redirect one to the other.
Cross-references
Extracted from the operative text of the enactments themselves. Every destination below exists in our corpus.
Referred to by 5
- Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (Draft stage of translated version) s. 94
- Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (Draft stage of translated version) s. 328
- Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita s. 94 Summons to produce document or other thing
- Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita s. 328 Evidence of officers of Mint
- National Sports Governance Act s. 24 Powers of Tribunal
Related judgements & precedents
These are some judgments that construed this section, and hold precedence value. They hold authority on how to read, interpret and use this section.
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Sumathi Ravichandran vs The Inspector of Police
Decided under Indian Evidence Act 124, which this section replaces. The court did not have this Act before it.
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
Sanction files containing confidential communications between government departments and authorities are privileged documents under Sections 123 and 124 of the Indian Evidence Act. An accused person does not have the right to peruse such privileged sanction files, even for purposes of mounting an effective defense. However, the trial court may examine the sanction file to satisfy itself that the sanctioning authority applied its mind to the facts placed before it. This approach balances the accused's right to fair trial with the state's legitimate interest in protecting confidential government communications relating to affairs of state.
On this section: Official communications; applied to hold that disclosure of sanction file communications would suffer public interest as they were made in official confidence
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Punjab Agircultural Univ. vs Kuldip Chand Bhargav
Decided under Indian Evidence Act 124, which this section replaces. The court did not have this Act before it.
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
Confidential official records of a public institution, including orders of administrative heads, recommendations of senior officers, legal advice from institutional legal advisors, and internal correspondence relating to employment matters, are protected from disclosure under Sections 123, 124, and 126 of the Indian Evidence Act. Such protection is necessary for the proper functioning of public institutions and cannot be overridden by a trial court's order to produce these documents in civil litigation, even when the documents may be relevant to the case.
On this section: Official communications - No public officer shall be compelled to disclose communications made in official confidence when public interest would suffer by disclosure. Applied to protect internal communications and recommendations.
The holding above is the ratio decidendi as extracted from the judgment by eCourts India, reproduced unaltered — it is a rendering of the court's reasoning, not a substitute for its words. Read the order itself before relying on it.
Judgments citing this section
These may be obiter dicta or a precedent, for you to study. These are the judgments where this section is quoted.
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… (2) Any person required under this section merely to produce a document, or other thing shall be deemed to have complied with the requisition if he causes such document or thing to be produced instead of attending personally to produce the same. - (3) Nothing in this section shall be deemed— - (a) to affect sections 129 and 130 of the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023 or the Bankers' Books Evidence Act, 1891; or - (b) to apply to a letter, postcard, or other document or any parcel or thing in the custody of the postal authority. 24. Having read the old Criminal Procedure Code and also BNSS, Section 91 …
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… (2) Any person required under this section merely to produce a document, or other thing shall be deemed to have complied with the requisition if he causes such document or thing to be produced instead of attending personally to produce the same. - (3) Nothing in this section shall be deemed— - (a) to affect sections 129 and 130 of the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023 or the Bankers' Books Evidence Act, 1891; or - (b) to apply to a letter, postcard, or other document or any parcel or thing in the custody of the postal authority. 24. Having read the old Criminal Procedure Code and also BNSS, Section 91 …
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… (2) Any person required under this section merely to produce a document, or other thing shall be deemed to have complied with the requisition if he causes such document or thing to be produced instead of attending personally to produce the same. (3) Nothing in this section shall be deemed— (a) to affect sections 129 and 130 of the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023 or the Bankers' Books Evidence Act, 1891 (13 of 1891); or (b) to apply to a letter, postcard, or other document or any parcel or thing in the custody of the postal authority." 7. A perusal of the above thus reveals that Section 94 of BNSS can be invoked only either …
Questions about Section 130
What have the courts held on Section 130 of the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam?
Sumathi Ravichandran vs The Inspector of Police (05 Mar 2013) is the leading judgment on this section among those set out below, though it was decided under IEA 124, which this section replaced -- the court never mentioned this Act: Official communications; applied to hold that disclosure of sanction file communications would suffer public interest as they were made in official confidence. Another 1 judgment on this section is set out below. They run from 2007 to 2013.
How do I find court cases under Section 130 of the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam?
In judgments and charge sheets this section is written several ways, and each form finds a different set of orders. These search the full text of every order eCourtsIndia holds, best matches first: BSA 130, section 130 BSA, section 130 of the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam. People searching for it also type bsa troop 130 and 129 130 bsa. Each opens the full list of orders on eCourtsIndia, where it can be narrowed by court, year and outcome. 2 reported judgments on this section are set out on this page, beginning with Sumathi Ravichandran vs The Inspector of Police (05 Mar 2013).
What should I read with Section 130 of the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, and has it changed?
5 other provisions in this corpus refer back to it. It carries forward IEA 124 (Official communications), so the judgments decided under that provision are the case law on this one.
When did Section 130 of the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam come into force?
Section 130 of the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, cited as BSA 130, came into force on 01 Jul 2024, having been enacted on 25 Dec 2023. It is in force as at the date shown on this page.
Other sections of this Act
- 26. Cases in which statement of relevant fact by person who is dead or cannot be found, etc., is relevant1128 words
- 12. Facts showing existence of state of mind, or of body or bodily feeling1076 words
- 95. Exclusion of evidence of oral agreement815 words
- 2. Definitions794 words
- 6. Motive, preparation and previous or subsequent conduct773 words
- 63. Admissibility of electronic records764 words
Source and method. Compiled from the enactments of Parliament and of the State legislatures as published on India Code, and republished together with commentary and other original matter under section 52(1)(q)(ii) of the Copyright Act, 1957. Structured, cross-referenced and maintained by eCourtsIndia. Text as in force on 15 Oct 2026. This page is not a substitute for legal advice.