Witness unable to communicate verbally
Section 119 of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872 deals with witness unable to communicate verbally. A witness who is unable to speak may give his evidence in any other manner in which he can make it intelligible, as by writing or by signs; The Act came into force on 01 Sep 1872. Repealed by section 170 of the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023 (47 of 2023) with effect from 1 July 2024, but conduct before that date is still charged, tried and appealed under it.
A witness who is unable to speak may give his evidence in any other manner in which he can make it intelligible, as by writing or by signs; but such writing must be written and the signs made in open Court, evidence so given shall be deemed to be oral evidence:
Provided that if the witness is unable to communicate verbally, the Court shall take the assistance of an interpreter or a special educator in recording the statement, and such statement shall be video graphed.]
Section 119, The Indian Evidence Act, 1872 (Act 1 of 1872).
Now in the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam
BSA 125 Witness unable to communicate verbally Text carried over almost unchanged 95%
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 The repealed enactment still governs what happened while it was in force.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.
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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… A perusal of the records shows that at the time of recording the evidence, Neither PW1 nor P.W.4 had not been administered oath as required under Section 119 of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872. Page 27 of 35 16. In this regard, in State of Rajasthan vs. Darshan Singh , reported in (2012) 5 SCC 789 , the Apex Court has observed as follows: "26.The object of …
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… It is contended that there is delay of almost 7 days in filing the complaint and no explanation is offered by the complainant. Further, the Special Court has failed to videograph the oral testimony of PW.3-victim during trial, which is a mandate under Section 119 of Indian Evidence Act, 1872. It is contended that the scribe of complaint-Ex.P1 is not examined and so far as statement recorded under Section 164 Cr.P.C, no translation is done in the question and answer form. Therefore, the very recording of victim's statement under Section 164 Cr.P.C is doubtful. Hence, …
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… That, there is no evidence to substantiate the Prosecution case and the evidence of P.W.3 is unreliable, the Learned Trial Court having failed to take into consideration the provisions of Section 119 of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872 (hereinafter, the "Evidence Act"), while examining P.W.3. Apart from which, P.W.3 admittedly suffers from mild retardation and epilepsy, making the requirement of testing of her competence to depose imperative. In fact, the evidence of P.W.1 reveals that P.Ws 2 and 5 had informed …
Questions about Section 119
What does Section 119 of the Indian Evidence Act deal with?
Section 119 of the Indian Evidence Act is headed "Witness unable to communicate verbally". A witness who is unable to speak may give his evidence in any other manner in which he can make it intelligible, as by writing or by signs;
How do I find court cases under Section 119 of the Indian Evidence Act?
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: IEA 119, section 119 IEA, section 119 of the Indian Evidence Act. Each opens the full list of orders on eCourtsIndia, where it can be narrowed by court, year and outcome.
What should I read with Section 119 of the Indian Evidence Act, and has it changed?
For anything done on or after 1 July 2024 the provision to read is BSA 125 (Witness unable to communicate verbally), which replaced it; conduct before that date is still charged, tried and appealed under this section.
When did Section 119 of the Indian Evidence Act come into force?
Section 119 of the Indian Evidence Act, cited as IEA 119, came into force on 01 Sep 1872, having been enacted on 15 Mar 1872. It is no longer in force.
Other sections of this Act
- 32. Cases in which statement of relevant fact by person who is dead or cannot be found, etc., is relevant1207 words
- 14. Facts showing existence of state of mind, or of body of bodily feeling1080 words
- 92. Exclusion of evidence of oral agreement809 words
- 8. Motive, preparation and previous or subsequent conduct773 words
- 65B. Admissibility of electronic records743 words
- 3. Interpretation-clause667 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. Recovered from the consolidated text published by India Code (item e51341fa-7528-4327-9a57-5d194e16db6f). This page is not a substitute for legal advice.