§ SECTION 68 · BSA 2023 · CHAPTER V — DOCUMENTARY EVIDENCE

Proof where no attesting witness found

The companion to § 67. When no attesting witness can be found, execution is proved by handwriting instead — that of one attestor, and the signature of the person who executed the document.

How to read Section 68

No witness? Prove the hands instead.

The trigger

No attesting witness can be found (none alive / reachable / able).

Prove (1)

One attestor’s attestation is in his handwriting.

Prove (2)

The executant’s signature is in his handwriting.

The bare Act

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

Section 68 · verbatim

If no such attesting witness can be found, it must be proved that the attestation of one attesting witness at least is in his handwriting, and that the signature of the person executing the document is in the handwriting of that person.

In short: § 67 requires an attesting witness — but witnesses die or vanish. § 68 supplies the fallback: where no attesting witness can be found, the document’s due execution is proved by handwriting. Two things must be shown — (1) that the attestation of at least one witness is in that witness’s own handwriting, and (2) that the signature of the executant is in the executant’s own handwriting. Both limbs are needed; proof of only one will not do.

→ This carries forward IEA 1872 § 69 — the substitute for § 67 when no attesting witness is available. The hands are proved by the usual routes (§ 65).

Glossary

attesting witness

One who witnessed and signed the execution — and now cannot be found.

attestation

The witness’s signing to confirm the execution.

executant

The person executing the document — whose signature must be proved.

in his handwriting

Shown to be in that person’s own hand — proved via § 65.

cannot be found

No attesting witness is alive, within reach, or able to testify.

both limbs

Attestor’s hand and executant’s signature — both required.

The picture

The witness is gone — two handwritings take his place.

The section, part by part

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

The ruleThe fallback

the ruleWhen no attesting witness can be found

In one lineIf no attesting witness can be found, prove two things instead: that one attestor’s attestation is in his handwriting, and that the executant’s signature is in his own.

If no such attesting witness can be found,IF no attesting witness availableif no attesting witness can be found (none alive, reachable or able)…

it must be proved that the attestation of one attesting witness at least is in his handwriting,prove ONE attestor’s handwriting…then prove that the attestation of at least one witness is in his handwriting…

and that the signature of the person executing the document is in the handwriting of that person.AND the executant’s signature is his…and that the signature of the executant is in his own handwriting.

ExampleA will’s two attesting witnesses have both died. To prove execution you show (1) that one witness’s attestation is in his handwriting, and (2) that the testator’s signature is in his own handwriting.

✗ Not this§ 68 applies only when no attesting witness can be found — not as an option you may pick while a witness is available (§ 67 governs then). And you must prove both limbs, not just one.

the fallbackHandwriting stands in for the witness

In one line§ 68 is the substitute for § 67. With no witness to call, you prove the document’s genuineness through handwriting — an attestor’s and the executant’s.

the § 67 fallbackwhen the witness is gone§ 68 takes over where § 67’s attesting witness cannot be found.

two things to proveattestor’s hand + executant’s signatureprove (1) one attestor’s attestation is in his handwriting, and (2) the executant’s signature is in his.

handwriting proof takes overvia the § 65 routesthe two hands are proved the ordinary way — opinion (§ 41), expert (§ 39) or comparison.

ExampleThe witnesses to a mortgage cannot be traced. You call someone familiar with a witness’s hand to prove his attestation, and a handwriting expert (§ 39) to prove the executant’s signature.

✗ Not thisThe proof is of handwriting, not of what the witness would have said. It shows the document was duly executed and attested — it does not, by itself, prove the truth of the document’s contents.

Connected provisions

§ 67

IEA 1872, § 69

Carried forward — proof where no attesting witness is found.

Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023 — Section 68: Proof where no attesting witness found