Section 155
Questions intended to insult or annoy
Reviewed by Ravi Sisodia · Last reviewed 10 October 2026
Official text of section 155 of the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023 (Chapter X: Of examination of witnesses), with the matching section of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872.
Section 155, official text
The Court shall forbid any question which appears to it to be intended to insult or annoy, or which, though proper in itself, appears to the Court needlessly offensive in form.
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 155 replaces Section 152 of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872 (“Questions intended to insult or annoy”). The wording is largely the same, with drafting changes such as renumbered or lettered sub-clauses and updated terms. The 1872 Act was repealed by section 170 of the Adhiniyam, which saves proceedings pending on 1 July 2024.
Nearby sections
- Section 153 — Procedure of Court in case of question being asked without reasonable grounds
- Section 154 — Indecent and scandalous questions
- Section 156 — Exclusion of evidence to contradict answers to questions testing veracity
- Section 157 — Question by party to his own witness
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 155