Indian Evidence Act, 1872 · Chapter II: Of the Relevancy of Facts · Character when relevant
Section 54: Previous bad character not relevant, except in reply
The Indian Evidence Act, 1872 was repealed and replaced by the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023 from 1 July 2024. It still applies to offences and proceedings from before that date.
In criminal proceedings, the fact that the accused person has a bad character, is irrelevant, unless evidence has been given that he has a good character, in which case it becomes relevant.
Explanation 1.––This section does not apply to cases in which the bad character of any person is itself a fact in issue.
Explanation 2.––A previous conviction is relevant as evidence of bad character.]
Corresponding sections were matched by comparing the wording of both official texts, and for the IPC and BNS, also against a published correspondence table. Wording, punishments and structure often changed, so read both sections before relying on the match.
Source: India Code (Legislative Department), the text of the Act as it stood before its repeal. Words in square brackets [ ] were inserted or substituted by later amending Acts, and *** marks words omitted by an amendment. The amendment footnotes are not reproduced here.