Question by party to his own witness
Section 154 of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872 deals with question by party to his own witness. ] The Court may, in its discretion, permit the person who calls a witness to put any questions to him which might be put in cross-examination by the adverse party. 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 Repealed by section 170 of the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023 (47 of 2023) with effect from 1 July 2024, but conduct before that date is still charged, tried and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.
[(1)] The Court may, in its discretion, permit the person who calls a witness to put any questions to him which might be put in cross-examination by the adverse party. [(2) Nothing in this section shall disentitle the person so permitted under sub-section (1), to rely on any part of the evidence of such witness.]
Section 154, The Indian Evidence Act, 1872 (Act 1 of 1872).
Now in the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam
BSA 157 Question by party to his own witness Text carried over almost unchanged 98%
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 The repealed enactment still governs what happened while it was in force.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 1
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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Vinod Kumar v. State of Punjab
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
Judgement of Main Case order-6.pdf 2015-01-21 DATE VERIFIED (not same-date ROP order-7; not the earlier 2014-09-23 labelled Judgment order-3). Crl A 554/2012. IEA 137/138: examination-in-chief and cross should be on the same day; long deferral lets the witness be gained over. Hostile evidence is not washed off — usable parts survive (s.154). CrPC 309 adjournments are not a right. Map iea 137/138/154 and crpc 309 (BNSS 346 successor, mapping.csv close).
On this section: s.154: a party may put questions to its own witness with the court's leave (hostile). The hostile parts are not washed off; usable portions of chief and re-examination survive (Vinod Kumar).
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Madhubala Shrivastava vs Anjani Kumar Shrivastava
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
A co-defendant who has independently filed a written statement in a civil suit cannot be cross-examined as a witness by another defendant, even if that co-defendant's written statement supports the plaintiff's claim. Section 154 of the Indian Evidence Act, which permits cross-examination of witnesses, applies only to witnesses called by a party, not to co-defendants with independent written statements. A co-defendant cannot be declared hostile merely because their written statement supports the opposing party's position.
On this section: Provides discretionary power to court to permit cross-examination of a witness called by the party; court interpreted this as applicable only to witnesses, not co-defendants with independent written statements
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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… under Section 154 to ask questions which might be put in cross-examination by the adverse party, the Indian Evidence Act leaves the matter entirely to the discretion of the court (see the observations of Sir Lawrence Jenkins in Baikuntha Nath v. Prasannamoyi [AIR 1922 PC 409: 72IC 286]). The discretion conferred by Section 154 on the court is unqualified and untrammelled and is apart from any question of "hostility". It is to be liberally exercised whenever the court from the witnesses demeanour, temper, attitude, bearing, or the tenor and tendency of his answers, or from a perusal of his previous inconsistent statement, or …
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… He followed the autorickshaw on his scooter. On the next day, he came to know that Vineesh had died. He denied that he knew the names of the assailants. The permission of the learned Sessions Judge was sought by the learned Public Prosecutor to invoke Section 154 of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872, and Exts.P1 to P3 contradictions were marked. 16. PW2 stated that his house is situated near the bus shelter at Aryanbeth. According to him, there is a street light in front of the bus shelter. The house of Jalesh (PW4) is situated about 200 meters away. He stated that he had …
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… Her father scolded the appellant, and they immediately rushed Haseena to Valiyath Hospital. The Doctors pronounced Haseena dead on arrival. Since PW3 did not support the prosecution version in its entirety, the Sessions Judge permitted the prosecution to invoke Section 154 of the Indian Evidence Act. Ext.P3 was marked subject to proof when she denied having stated that the 2nd accused also accompanied the appellant for treatment. PW3 denied her former statement to the police that the appellant massaged the body of the deceased, and that portion was marked as Ext. P3(a) subject to …
Questions about Section 154
What have the courts held on Section 154 of the Indian Evidence Act?
Vinod Kumar v. State of Punjab (21 Jan 2015) is the leading judgment on this section among those set out below: s.154: a party may put questions to its own witness with the court's leave (hostile). The hostile parts are not washed off; usable portions of chief and re-examination survive (Vinod Kumar). Another 1 judgment on this section is set out below, 1 of them from the Supreme Court.
How do I find court cases under Section 154 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 154, section 154 IEA, section 154 of the Indian Evidence Act. 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 Vinod Kumar v. State of Punjab (21 Jan 2015).
What should I read with Section 154 of the Indian Evidence Act, and has it changed?
1 other provision in this corpus refers back to it. For anything done on or after 1 July 2024 the provision to read is BSA 157 (Question by party to his own witness), which replaced it; conduct before that date is still charged, tried and appealed under this section.
When did Section 154 of the Indian Evidence Act come into force?
Section 154 of the Indian Evidence Act, commonly called hostile witness, and cited as IEA 154, 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.