§ SECTION 74 · BSA 2023 · CHAPTER V — DOCUMENTARY EVIDENCE

Public and private documents

A classification that governs how documents are proved. Public documents are the acts and records of public authority — the sovereign, official bodies and tribunals, and public officers — plus public records of private documents; all others are private.

How to read Section 74

Two boxes — and the proof rules follow the box.

Public (1)

Acts / records of the sovereign, official bodies & tribunals, public officers; and public records of private documents.

Private (2)

All other documents.

Why it matters

Public → certified copy; private → original / ordinary proof.

The bare Act

The section in its own words — the public list, and the private residue.

Section 74 · verbatim

(1) The following documents are public documents:—

(a)documents forming the acts, or records of the acts—

(i) of the sovereign authority;

(ii) of official bodies and tribunals; and

(iii) of public officers, legislative, judicial and executive of India or of a foreign country;

(b)public records kept in any State or Union territory of private documents.

(2) All other documents except the documents referred to in sub-section (1) are private.

In short: the chapter now sorts documents into two classes, because they are proved differently. A public document is one that emanates from public authority — the acts or records of the sovereign, of official bodies and tribunals, and of public officers (legislative, judicial or executive), whether of India or a foreign country — and also the public records that States and Union territories keep of private documents. Everything else is private. The pay-off comes next: public documents can be proved by certified copies, whereas private documents must be proved by the original or by ordinary secondary evidence.

→ This carries forward IEA 1872 §§ 74–75 — the public / private document classification.

Glossary

public document

An act or record of public authority — provable by certified copy.

private document

All others — proved by the original or ordinary secondary evidence.

sovereign authority

The State itself — its acts and records are public.

official bodies and tribunals

Statutory bodies and courts whose acts are public.

public officers

Legislative, judicial, executive — of India or a foreign country.

public record of a private document

The registered record of a private deed — public only as to the record (1)(b).

The picture

Two classes of document — two ways to prove them.

The section, part by part

Two sub-sections — tap each. Every clause is shown in its own words with a plain meaning.

(1) Public(2) Private

sub-section (1)What counts as a public document

In one linePublic documents are the acts, or records of the acts, of public authority — the sovereign, official bodies and tribunals, and public officers (of India or abroad) — plus public records of private documents.

(1) The following documents are public documents:–PUBLIC documents are:these are public documents:

(a) documents forming the acts, or records of the acts–(a) acts / records of the acts of…documents that form the acts, or records of the acts—

(i) of the sovereign authority;(i) the sovereign authority…of the sovereign authority (the State);

(ii) of official bodies and tribunals; and(ii) official bodies & tribunals…of official bodies and tribunals; and

(iii) of public officers, legislative, judicial and executive of India or of a foreign country;(iii) public officers (India or foreign)…of public officers — legislative, judicial and executive — of India or a foreign country.

(b) public records kept in any State or Union territory of private documents.(b) public records of private docspublic records kept in any State/UT of private documents (e.g. a registered deed on the register).

ExampleA gazette notification, a court judgment, a birth register, the registration entry of a sale-deed — all public documents. A private deed, once registered and entered in the public record, has a public record of it (b).

✗ Not this‘Public’ is not about being publicly available. It is about being an act / record of public authority. A private letter, however widely read, stays private.

sub-section (2)Private documents — and why the line matters

In one lineEverything not in the (1) list is private. The distinction decides how you prove it: public documents by certified copy, private ones by the original or ordinary secondary evidence.

(2) All other documents except the documents referred to in sub-section (1) are private.(2) everything else = PRIVATEevery other document — not in the list above — is private.

everything else is privatethe residual categoryif a document is not a public document under (1), it is private.

why the split mattersproof differspublic documents may be proved by certified copies; private ones by the original or ordinary secondary evidence.

a public record of a private doconly the record is publicunder (1)(b) the public record is public — the underlying private deed is still a private document.

ExampleTo prove a registered deed’s registration you use a certified copy from the registry (public record). To prove your own unregistered agreement, you produce the original (private).

✗ Not thisDo not treat every official-looking paper as public. The test is whether it is an act / record of the listed authorities — and a public record of a private document (b) is public only as to the record.

Connected provisions

§ 60

IEA 1872, §§ 74–75

Carried forward — public and private documents.

Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023 — Section 74: Public and private documents