Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023 · Chapter III: Facts Which Need Not Be Proved · Sections
Section 52: Facts of which Court shall take judicial notice
In plain words
The court must take judicial notice of certain facts without proof.
- All laws in force in India, India's international treaties and agreements, and the proceedings of the Constituent Assembly, Parliament and State Legislatures.
- Seals of courts, tribunals and notaries, and the names and signatures of public office holders notified in the Gazette.
- Countries and flags recognised by India, divisions of time and geography, notified holidays, the territory of India, and hostilities involving India.
- The names of court officers and advocates, and the rule of the road on land or at sea.
- The court can consult reference books, and can refuse to take notice until the person asking produces them.
A simplified explanation, prepared with AI assistance from the official text below and checked automatically against it for numbers and cross-references. The official text is the law and prevails over this summary. Not legal advice.
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: India Code (indiacode.gov.in), the consolidated text published by the Legislative Department, Government of India. Text as updated on India Code on 25 August 2026. 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. Official text on India Code.
Supreme Court judgments citing the section 52
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Aligarh Muslim University v. Naresh Agarwal & Ors.
The issues were: 1) ingredients, indicia or criteria for an educational institution to be considered a minority educational institution under Article 30 of the Constitution; 2) whether Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) is…