Open book

Bare acts for AIBE

AIBE permits bare acts and bans notes. What that means in practice is narrower than most candidates assume, and books are confiscated at the gate every year for getting it wrong.

What counts as a bare act

• The text of the statute, with section headings and marginal notes as printed.
• No commentary, no case notes, no "short notes" edition — those are the editions most likely to be refused.
• No handwriting anywhere, including your name on the flyleaf in some centres.
• Blank tabs and flags are permitted. Written tabs are not.

The full checklist, including what gets confiscated →

Which acts cover which marks

Bare act	Subject	Marks
Constitution of India	Constitutional Law	10
BNSS 2023	CrPC & Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita	10
CPC 1908	Code of Civil Procedure	10
BNS 2023	IPC & Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita	8
BSA 2023	Evidence Act & Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam	8
Contract Act 1872	Contract, Specific Relief, Property & NI Act	8
Hindu Marriage Act 1955	Family Law	8
Consumer Protection Act 2019	Torts, Motor Vehicles & Consumer Protection	5
Arbitration Act 1996	ADR & Arbitration	4
Constitution of India	Public Interest Litigation	4

Carry the new codes

The BNS, BNSS and BSA replaced the IPC, CrPC and Evidence Act in July 2024. Carry the new ones; carry the old ones as well if the centre permits, because questions can cite either. What changed →

Tabbing, since the tabs must be blank

• Colour-code by chapter and memorise the key. Yellow for definitions, blue for procedure — whatever you will remember under pressure.
• Tab the outer edge, not the top, so you can thumb through without opening.
• Practise with the tabbed book. Tabs you have never used at speed are decoration.