Section 146
Leading questions
Reviewed by Ravi Sisodia · Last reviewed 10 October 2026
Official text of section 146 of the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023 (Chapter X: Of examination of witnesses), with the matching section of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872.
Section 146, official text
(1) Any question suggesting the answer which the person putting it wishes or expects to receive, is called a leading question.
(2) Leading questions must not, if objected to by the adverse party, be asked in an examination-in-chief, or in a re-examination, except with the permission of the Court.
(3) The Court shall permit leading questions as to matters which are introductory or undisputed, or which have, in its opinion, been already sufficiently proved.
(4) Leading questions may be asked in cross-examination.
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 146 replaces Section 141 of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872 (“Leading questions”). 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 The 1872 Act was repealed by section 170 of the Adhiniyam, which saves proceedings pending on 1 July 2024.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
- Section 144 — Cross-examination of person called to produce a document
- Section 145 — Witnesses to character
- Section 147 — Evidence as to matters in writing
- Section 148 — Cross-examination as to previous statements in writing
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 146