The Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023 · Ch. II — RELEVANCY OF FACTS
Section 47 — In criminal cases previous good character relevant
In criminal proceedings the fact that the person accused is of a good character, is relevant.
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The Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023 · Ch. II — RELEVANCY OF FACTS
In criminal proceedings the fact that the person accused is of a good character, is relevant.
Sections of the BSA are not classified one by one by any First Schedule. Part II of the First Schedule to the BNSS classifies offences under every other law by the punishment they carry — and the CRPC’s First Schedule sets out the same three bands.
If punishable with death, imprisonment for life, or imprisonment for more than 7 years.
If punishable with imprisonment for 3 years and upwards but not more than 7 years.
If punishable with imprisonment for less than 3 years or with fine only.
Read it against the punishment in the section above. Vidhara does not place a section in a band for you — that turns on the exact wording of its punishment, which is the section’s to say and not ours.
And a special or local law may provide otherwise: see BNSS section 5, which saves any special jurisdiction, power or procedure another law lays down.
IEA Section 53 → BSA Section 47 per the official NCRB Sankalan table.
This is the text of IEA Section 53, not of the section above. Read both before relying on either.
In criminal proceedings, the fact that the person accused is of a good character, is relevant.
Source & version
Official text: Gazette of India via MHA (official) ↗
Official Gazette text: The Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023 (47 of 2023), English PDF as hosted by Ministry of Home Affairs (mha.gov.in, file 250882_english_01042024_0.pdf). Extracted via pdftotext 26.07 -bbox and @nexlex/ingest gazette-bbox parser on 2026-07-14. Automated parse; structural validation + spot verification; full clause-level proofread pending.
Spotted a mistake in this text or its mapping? Report an issue with BSA Section 47
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