Impeaching credit of witness
Section 155 of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872 deals with impeaching credit of witness. The credit of a witness may be impeached in the following ways by the adverse party, or, with the consent of the Court, by the party who calls him: –– (1) by the evidence of persons who testify that they, from their knowledge of the witness, believe him to be unworthy of credit; 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 Repealed by section 170 of the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023 (47 of 2023) with effect from 1 July 2024, but conduct before that date is still charged, tried and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.
The credit of a witness may be impeached in the following ways by the adverse party, or, with the consent of the Court, by the party who calls him: –– (1) by the evidence of persons who testify that they, from their knowledge of the witness, believe him to be unworthy of credit; o to give his evidence;
1. Section 154 numbered as sub-section (1) thereof by Act 2 of 2006, s. 9 (w.e.f. 16-4-2006).
(3) by proof of former statements inconsistent with any part of his evidence which is liable to be contradicted;
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* Explanation. –– A witness declaring another witness to be unworthy of credit may not, upon his examination-in-chief, give reasons for his belief, but he may be asked his reasons in cross-examination, and the answers which he gives cannot be contradicted, though, if they are false, he may afterwards be charged with giving false evidence. Illustrations (a) A sues B for the price of goods sold and delivered to B. C says that he delivered the goods to B. Evidence is offered to show that, on a previous occasion, he said that he had not delivered goods to B. The evidence is admissible.
(b) A is indicted for the murder of B. C says that B, when dying declared that A had given B the wound of which he died. Evidence is offered to show that, on a previous occasion, C said that the wound was not given by A or in his presence. The evidence is admissible.
Section 155, The Indian Evidence Act, 1872 (Act 1 of 1872).
Now in the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam
BSA 158 Impeaching credit of witness 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 The repealed enactment still governs what happened while it was in force.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.
Cross-references
Extracted from the operative text of the enactments themselves. Every destination below exists in our corpus.
This section refers to
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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State of U. P vs Veer Singh
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
When a person who makes a statement believed to be a dying declaration subsequently survives, such statement must be treated under Section 164 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, and not as a dying declaration under Section 32 of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872. Such statements can be used only for corroboration under Section 157 or for contradiction under Section 155 of the Evidence Act, and not as substantive evidence. Therefore, the acquittal of accused persons solely on the ground that they were not named in such a limited statement, when they were named in the FIR and other evidence of their involvement exists, constitutes a manifest error of law and is indefensible. Appellate courts must apply their mind objectively to all evidence on record and not dispose of appeals on erroneous or incomplete analysis of evidence.
On this section: Impeaching credibility; statements under Section 164 CrPC can be used to contradict a witness
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Ladi vs State of Haryana
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
An accused has an indefeasible right to fair trial and equal opportunity to prove his innocence. Electronically recorded conversations are admissible as documentary evidence under the amended Indian Evidence Act and Information Technology Act 2000 when: (1) the conversation is relevant to matters in issue; (2) the voice is properly identified; and (3) the accuracy of the recorded conversation is proved by eliminating the possibility of tampering, erasure, addition or manipulation. Courts must exercise their powers under Section 311 CrPC and Section 165 Evidence Act to examine witnesses and elicit evidence essential to just decision, taking a participatory role in trials to arrive at truth. When a witness has not been cross-examined on material evidence that subsequently emerges, courts should grant opportunity for re-examination to ensure fair trial.
On this section: Deals with impeaching credit of witness by proof of former statements inconsistent with any part of his evidence which is liable to be contradicted.
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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… Court while deciding in Kehar Singh did not take into account various material aspects including the right to fair trial and the right of cross-examination and thirdly, if the defence is not allowed to confront the prosecution witness with the affidavit filed before the commission, it will be in violation of Section 145, 155 and 157 of the Indian Evidence Act. - 32. Section 6 of the Commission of Inquiry Act provides as under: "No statement made by a person in the course of giving evidence before the Commission shall subject him to, or be used against him in, any civil or criminal proceeding except a prosecution for giving …
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… Therefore, impeaching credit of a witness not only to witnesses cited but also equally to assess and also credibility of the accused role is also to be taken into consideration. In the instant case, the deceased M.P.Raghunatha @ Raghu who is not away from the containment of provisions of Section 155 of the Indian Evidence Act relating to impeachment. But the entire case to some extent it is relating to the even motive factors and even the entirety of the circumstantial evidence. But evidentiary value of the hostile witnesses have also to be taken into consideration. But the statement of hostile witnesses can be …
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… Therefore, it is wisely said that it can only be used for contradicting, discrediting or for testing the veracity and for impeaching the said witness and that said portion cannot be used as substantive evidence. 35. Section 155 of the Indian Evidence Act also as quoted above clears the doubt that the contradicted portion in the statement and evidence can also be used either by the prosecution or by the defence for the purpose of impeaching the credit of witness. The words "impeaching the credit", themselves disclose that such witness …
Questions about Section 155
What have the courts held on Section 155 of the Indian Evidence Act?
State of U. P vs Veer Singh (28 Apr 2004) is the leading judgment on this section among those set out below: Impeaching credibility; statements under Section 164 CrPC can be used to contradict a witness. Another 1 judgment on this section is set out below, 1 of them from the Supreme Court. They run from 2004 to 2013.
How do I find court cases under Section 155 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 155, section 155 IEA, section 155 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 State of U. P vs Veer Singh (28 Apr 2004).
What should I read with Section 155 of the Indian Evidence Act, and has it changed?
Its own text turns on section 154 (Question by party to his own witness), so none of them can safely be read on its own. For anything done on or after 1 July 2024 the provision to read is BSA 158 (Impeaching credit of witness), which replaced it; conduct before that date is still charged, tried and appealed under this section.
When did Section 155 of the Indian Evidence Act come into force?
Section 155 of the Indian Evidence Act, cited as IEA 155, 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.