Skip to main contentSkip to content
Knowledge Hubs
Indian Laws › Civil Procedure, Evidence and Enforcement › The Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023 › Section 52
Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023Section 52Chapter III - Facts which need not be proved

Section 52
Facts of which Court shall take judicial notice

Reviewed by Ravi Sisodia · Last reviewed 10 October 2026

Official text of section 52 of the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023 (Chapter III: Facts which need not be proved), with the matching section of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872.

ActThe Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023
ProvisionSection 52: Facts of which Court shall take judicial notice
ChapterChapter III - Facts which need not be proved
ReplacesSection 57 of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872 (“Facts of which Court must take judicial notice”)
Official textNCRB — Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023, section 52

Section 52, official text

(1) The Court shall take judicial notice of the following facts, namely:—

(a) all laws in force in the territory of India including laws having extra-territorial operation;

(b) international treaty, agreement or convention with country or countries by India, or decisions made by India at international associations or other bodies;

(c) the course of proceeding of the Constituent Assembly of India, of Parliament of India and of the State Legislatures;

(d) the seals of all Courts and Tribunals;

(e) the seals of Courts of Admiralty and Maritime Jurisdiction, Notaries Public, and all seals which any person is authorised to use by the Constitution, or by an Act of Parliament or State Legislatures, or Regulations having the force of law in India;

(f) the accession to office, names, titles, functions, and signatures of the persons filling for the time being any public office in any State, if the fact of their appointment to such office is notified in any Official Gazette;

(g) the existence, title and national flag of every country or sovereign recognised by the Government of India;

(h) the divisions of time, the geographical divisions of the world, and public festivals, fasts and holidays notified in the Official Gazette;

(i) the territory of India;

(j) the commencement, continuance and termination of hostilities between the Government of India and any other country or body of persons;

(k) the names of the members and officers of the Court and of their deputies and subordinate officers and assistants, and also of all officers acting in execution of its process, and of advocates and other persons authorised by law to appear or act before it;

(l) the rule of the road on land or at sea.

(2) In the cases referred to in sub-section (1) and also on all matters of public history, literature, science or art, the Court may resort for its aid to appropriate books or documents of reference and if the Court is called upon by any person to take judicial notice of any fact, it may refuse to do so unless and until such person produces any such book or document as it may consider necessary to enable it to do so.

Source: The Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023 (Act 47 of 2023), Gazette of India Extraordinary, in force from 1 July 2024. The signed Gazette controls.

Compared with the Indian Evidence Act, 1872

Section 52 replaces Section 57 of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872 (“Facts of which Court must take judicial notice”). The provision has been reworded or extended compared with the earlier section; read the two texts side by side. The 1872 Act was repealed by section 170 of the Adhiniyam, which saves proceedings pending on 1 July 2024.

Nearby sections

← PreviousNext →

Source and review trail

The text above is taken from the Gazette of India publication of the Act. Check later amendments and the signed Gazette before relying on it.

Official text
NCRB — Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023, section 52

More