§ SECTION 65 · BSA 2023 · CHAPTER V — DOCUMENTARY EVIDENCE

Proof of signature and handwriting of person alleged to have signed or written document produced

Producing a document is not the same as proving whose hand made it. If a document is alleged to be signed or written by a person, that signature or handwriting must be proved to be his.

How to read Section 65

Attribution is a fact — and facts must be proved.

The allegation

A document said to be signed or written by a person.

The requirement

That signature or handwriting must be proved to be his.

The scope

Only the part attributed to him — “so much…as is alleged”.

The bare Act

The section in its own words — colour-keyed by what each phrase does.

Section 65 · verbatim

If a document is alleged to be signed or to have been written wholly or in part by any person, the signature or the handwriting of so much of the document as is alleged to be in that person’s handwriting must be proved to be in his handwriting.

In short: merely producing a document, and asserting that a person signed or wrote it, proves nothing about authorship. Section 65 puts the burden squarely on the party who makes the claim: the signature, or the handwriting of whatever part is attributed to that person, must be proved to be his. Note two limits — it reaches only “so much…as is alleged” to be his hand (not the whole document), and proving the hand genuine says nothing about whether the document’s contents are true.

→ This carries forward IEA 1872 § 67. How the hand is proved draws on § 41 (opinion as to handwriting) and § 39 (experts).

Glossary

signature

A person’s written mark adopting a document as his.

handwriting

Writing in a person’s own hand — here, the part attributed to him.

alleged

Claimed — and therefore something that must be proved.

wholly or in part

The whole document, or just a portion of it, may be attributed.

so much…as is alleged

Only the attributed part need be proved — not the rest.

proved to be his handwriting

Shown, by evidence, to be in that person’s hand.

The picture

From allegation to proof of the hand.

The section, part by part

Tap a part — the picture-story tells it first; the word-by-word text and example follow.

The ruleHow you prove it

the ruleWhose hand it is must be proved, not assumed

In one lineIf you allege a document was signed or written by someone, the signature or handwriting attributed to him must be proved to be his.

If a document is alleged to be signed or to have been written wholly or in part by any person,IF you say X signed / wrote itif you claim a document was signed or written (wholly or in part) by a person…

the signature or the handwriting of so much of the document as is alleged to be in that person’s handwritingthat signature / handwriting…then the signature (or the handwriting of the part attributed to him)…

must be proved to be in his handwriting.→ must be PROVED to be his…must be proved to be in his handwriting.

ExampleYou produce a promissory note said to bear the defendant’s signature. You cannot simply assert it is his — you must prove the signature is in his handwriting (say, by a witness who saw him sign, or an expert).

✗ Not thisA document does not prove its own signature. There is no presumption of genuineness — the party relying on it must prove the attributed hand.

how you prove itWays to prove the hand

In one lineThe attributed hand may be proved in several ways — an admission, an eyewitness to the signing, someone who knows the hand, an expert (§ 39), or comparison of writings.

proof is requiredyou must establish itthe attribution is a fact to be proved — not assumed from the document.

several routesadmission / witness / opinion / expert / comparisonit may be shown by admission, an eyewitness, one who knows the hand, an expert (§ 39), or comparison of writings.

the alleged part only‘so much…as is alleged’you prove only the portion attributed to that person — not the whole document.

ExampleTo prove the defendant wrote a disputed clause, you might call a clerk who saw him write it, a colleague familiar with his hand, or a handwriting expert (§ 39) comparing it with admitted samples.

✗ Not thisProving the signature genuine does not prove the truth of the document’s contents — § 65 is only about whose hand it is, not whether what it says is true.

Connected provisions

§ 41

IEA 1872, § 67

Carried forward — proof of signature and handwriting.

Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023 — Section 65: Proof of signature and handwriting