Section 135
Production of title-deeds of witness not a party
Reviewed by Ravi Sisodia · Last reviewed 10 October 2026
Official text of section 135 of the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023 (Chapter IX: Of witnesses), with the matching section of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872.
Section 135, official text
No witness who is not a party to a suit shall be compelled to produce his title-deeds to any property, or any document in virtue of which he holds any property as pledgee or mortgagee or any document the production of which might tend to criminate him, unless he has agreed in writing to produce them with the person seeking the production of such deeds or some person through whom he claims.
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 135 replaces Section 130 of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872 (“Production of title-deeds of witness not a party”). The wording is substantially the same as the earlier section. The 1872 Act was repealed by section 170 of the Adhiniyam, which saves proceedings pending on 1 July 2024.
Nearby sections
- Section 133 — Privilege not waived by volunteering evidence
- Section 134 — Confidential communication with legal advisers
- Section 136 — Production of documents or electronic records which another person, having possession, could refuse to produce
- Section 137 — Witness not excused from answering on ground that answer will criminate
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 135