Evidence as to affairs of State
Section 123 of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872 deals with evidence as to affairs of State. No one shall be permitted to give any evidence derived from unpublished official records relating to any affairs of State, except with the permission of the officer at the head of the department concerned, who shall give or withhold such permission as he thinks fit. 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 Repealed by section 170 of the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023 (47 of 2023) with effect from 1 July 2024, but conduct before that date is still charged, tried and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.
No one shall be permitted to give any evidence derived from unpublished official records relating to any affairs of State, except with the permission of the officer at the head of the department concerned, who shall give or withhold such permission as he thinks fit.
Section 123, The Indian Evidence Act, 1872 (Act 1 of 1872).
Now in the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam
BSA 129 Evidence as to affairs of State 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 The repealed enactment still governs what happened while it was in force.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 60
- Administrative Tribunals Act s. 22 Procedure and powers of Tribunals
- Air Force Act s. 135 Documents exempted from production
- Airports Economic Regulatory Authority of India Act s. 29 Procedure and powers of Appellate Tribunal
- Andaman and Nicobar Islands Cooperative Socities Regulation 1973 s. 87 Repeal and savings
- Andhra Pradesh Goods and Services Tax Act s. 111 Procedure before Appellate Tribunal
- Armed Forces Tribunal Act s. 14 Jurisdiction, powers and authority in service matters
- Army Act s. 136 Documents exempted from production
- Arunachal Pradesh Goods and Services Tax Act s. 111
- Arunachal Pradesh Goods and Services Tax Act s. 111 Procedure before Appellate Tribunal
- Assam Goods and Services Tax Act s. 111
- Assam Rifles Act s. 112 Documents exempted from production
- Bihar Goods and Services Tax Act s. 234
and 48 more
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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Yashwant Sinha v. CBI
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
Judgement of Main Case order-4.pdf 2019-04-10. Review Pet (Crl) 46/2019. Gogoi CJI/Kaul + Joseph concurrence. DATE-CHECK flagged 2016-06-01 / 2015-11-24 MoD-note fact dates (false positive); body is the named reportable, digitally signed 2019.04.10. Skip same-CNR order-16.pdf 2019-11-14 (pronouncement ROP) and do not attach the Rafale merits PDF. OSA 3/5 do not bar publication or production of documents already in the public domain; IEA 123 privilege is only for unpublished official records.
On this section: s.123 privilege as to affairs of State is confined to unpublished official records; once the document is in the public domain the privilege cannot be claimed (Yashwant Sinha).
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Sas Realtors Pvt. LTD vs Sri Maruti Electrical Enterprises
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
The Limitation Act, 1963 applies to applications filed under Sections 7 and 9 of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 from the Code's commencement on 01.12.2016. Time-barred debts cannot trigger the Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process. The expression 'debt due' in the Code refers only to debts that are not time-barred and are legally recoverable. Article 137 of the Limitation Act prescribes a three-year limitation period for applications under Sections 7 and 9, and applications filed beyond this period are barred unless delay is condoned under Section 5 of the Limitation Act.
On this section: Referenced in Section 424(2) of Companies Act regarding requisitioning public records.
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Director General (road Development) National Highways Authority of India vs Aam Aadmi Lokmanch
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
The National Green Tribunal has jurisdiction under Sections 14, 15, 16, and 17 of the NGT Act, 2010, to award compensation for death and environmental damage resulting from violation of enactments listed in Schedule I, including the Environment Protection Act, 1986. The NGT can exercise this jurisdiction on application by any person aggrieved, including representative organizations, without requiring application by legal representatives of deceased. However, while NGT has power to issue general directions for environmental protection based on adjudication of cases before it, such directions must be based on scientific evidence, expert reports, and proper procedure allowing parties to object and make representations. Sweeping blanket directions without such foundation are procedurally indefensible and can be set aside. Similarly, state government's exercise of power under Section 154 of MRTP Act to modify development plans must be based on adequate reasons and supporting material, and cannot be arbitrary or devoid of rationale. The National Highways Authority of India owes a duty of care to highway users to maintain highways in safe condition, including drainage systems and culverts, and can be held liable in tort for breach of this duty when it fails to take reasonable steps after being notified of deficiencies and foreseeable dangers.
On this section: Applied to NGT's procedure for receiving evidence
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Sumathi Ravichandran vs The Inspector of Police
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: Evidence as to affairs of State; applied to hold that sanction file comprises unpublished official records relating to affairs of state and is privileged
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Punjab Agircultural Univ. vs Kuldip Chand Bhargav
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: Evidence as to affairs of State - No one shall be permitted to give evidence derived from unpublished official records relating to affairs of State except with permission of the officer at the head of the department. Applied to protect confidential university records from disclosure.
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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… We have above all else feared the political censor. We have wanted a land where our people can be exposed to all the diverse creeds and cultures of the world." 7. Law in India relating to Crown privilege as it was originally styled in England is mainly embedded in a statutory provision namely Section 123 of the Indian Evidence Act. Also Section 124 of the said Act is relied upon in the affidavit of the Secretary. Section 124 of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872 reads as follows:- > "124. Official communications. —No public officer shall be compelled to disclose communications made to him in official confidence, …
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… We have above all else feared the political censor. We have wanted a land where our people can be exposed to all the diverse creeds and cultures of the world." 7. Law in India relating to Crown privilege as it was originally styled in England is mainly embedded in a statutory provision namely Section 123 of the Indian Evidence Act. Also Section 124 of the said Act is relied upon in the affidavit of the Secretary. Section 124 of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872 reads as follows:- > "124. Official communications. —No public officer shall be compelled to disclose communications made to him in official confidence, …
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… We have above all else feared the political censor. We have wanted a land where our people can be exposed to all the diverse creeds and cultures of the world." 7. Law in India relating to Crown privilege as it was originally styled in England is mainly embedded in a statutory provision namely Section 123 of the Indian Evidence Act. Also Section 124 of the said Act is relied upon in the affidavit of the Secretary. Section 124 of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872 reads as follows:- > "124. Official communications. —No public officer shall be compelled to disclose communications made to him in official confidence, …
Questions about Section 123
What have the courts held on Section 123 of the Indian Evidence Act?
Yashwant Sinha v. CBI (10 Apr 2019) is the leading judgment on this section among those set out below: s.123 privilege as to affairs of State is confined to unpublished official records; once the document is in the public domain the privilege cannot be claimed (Yashwant Sinha). Another 4 judgments on this section are set out below, 3 of them from the Supreme Court. They run from 2007 to 2020.
How do I find court cases under Section 123 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 123, section 123 IEA, section 123 of the Indian Evidence Act. Each opens the full list of orders on eCourtsIndia, where it can be narrowed by court, year and outcome. 5 reported judgments on this section are set out on this page, beginning with Yashwant Sinha v. CBI (10 Apr 2019).
What should I read with Section 123 of the Indian Evidence Act, and has it changed?
60 other provisions in this corpus refer back to it. For anything done on or after 1 July 2024 the provision to read is BSA 129 (Evidence as to affairs of State), which replaced it; conduct before that date is still charged, tried and appealed under this section.
When did Section 123 of the Indian Evidence Act come into force?
Section 123 of the Indian Evidence Act, cited as IEA 123, 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.