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Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023 — Section 76: Proof of documents by production of certified copies

§ SECTION 76 · BSA 2023 · CHAPTER V — DOCUMENTARY EVIDENCE

Proof of documents by production of certified copies

The pay-off of §§ 74–75. A certified copy may simply be produced to prove the contents of the public document it copies — the original record stays in the office, and no official need be called.

How to read Section 76

Hand it in — the contents are proved.

Produce

A certified copy (§ 75) is put in evidence.

Proves

The contents of the public document (or the part) it copies.

No need

No original register, no officer to be called.

The bare Act

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

Section 76 · verbatim

Such certified copies may be produced in proof of the contents of the public documents or parts of the public documents of which they purport to be copies.

In short: this completes the public-document machinery. § 74 defined public documents; § 75 said you may obtain a certified copy of one and set out what such a copy is. § 76 gives that copy its evidentiary force: it may be produced, on its own, to prove the contents of the public document (or the part) of which it purports to be a copy. There is no need to produce the original record or to call the officer who keeps it — the certified copy is self-proving. Note the limit: it proves what the record contains, and applies only to public documents.

→ This carries forward IEA 1872 § 77 — proof of documents by production of certified copies.

Glossary

certified copy

A copy bearing the officer’s “true copy” certificate (§ 75).

produced in proof

Put in evidence to establish the contents — on its own.

contents

What the public document says — the matter proved.

purport to be copies

The copy must be of that public document (or part) it claims.

self-proving

Needs no further proof — no original, no officer.

public document

Only public documents (§ 74) are proved this way.

The picture

One document does the work of two.

certified copy (§ 75)producedproves the CONTENTSof the public document(or the part it copies)no original registerno officer to call— self-provingit proves what the record contains — not that the record’s statements are true in fact

The section, part by part

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

the ruleThe certified copy proves itself

In one lineA certified copy may simply be produced to prove the contents of the public document (or the part) it purports to copy — no original register, no officer to call.
1A certified copy(made under§ 75)2Produce itin court — onits own3Proves the publicdocument’scontentsthe certified copy is self-proving — hand it in and the contents are proved
Such certified copiesa § 75 certified copya certified copy (as made under § 75)…
may be produced in proof of the contents of the public documents or parts of the public documents→ proves the CONTENTS of the public doc…may be produced to prove the contents of the public document (or the relevant part)…
of which they purport to be copies.that it purports to copy…of which it purports to be a copy.
ExampleTo prove what a registered sale-deed says, a court decree, or a birth-register entry, you produce the certified copy — you need not bring the original register or call the record-keeper.
✗ Not thisThis proves only the contents of the public document it copies — not facts beyond the record, and only for public documents. A private document still needs ordinary proof (§ 65).

why it mattersThe public-document shortcut, complete

In one line§§ 74–75 built up to this: a certified copy is self-proving. Produce it, and the public document’s contents are proved — without the original register or its keeper.
certified copyproducedcontents of the publicdocument PROVEDno original registerno officer to callA certified copy, once produced, proves the contents of the public document — no original register and no officer required.
no original neededthe record stays in the registryyou need not produce the original public record — the certified copy stands in for it.
no officer to callit is self-provingno need to summon the record-keeper — producing the certified copy is enough.
the contents are provedsubject to genuinenessit proves the contents of the public document it copies (its genuineness is presumed under the presumption sections).
ExampleIn a title suit, the parties file certified copies of the earlier registered deeds and the mutation entries — the registry keeps the originals, and no clerk is called.
✗ Not thisThe copy proves what the record contains — it does not prove that what the record states is true in fact (e.g. a wrong entry stays wrong); and it cannot substitute for proof of a private document.

Connected provisions

§ 75

Certified copies

How the certified copy is made — § 76 gives it its force.

§ 74

Public documents

Only public documents are proved this way.

§ 60

Secondary evidence

(f) — a certified copy is the permitted secondary evidence.

§ 77 · next

Other official documents

Other modes of proving public documents — Chapter V continues.