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Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023 — Section 83: Presumption as to collections of laws and reports of decisions

§ SECTION 83 · BSA 2023 · CHAPTER V — DOCUMENTARY EVIDENCE

Presumption as to collections of laws and reports of decisions

Law books need not prove themselves. The Court shall presume genuine every Government-published book that contains a country’s laws, and every book of reports of its court decisions — of any country, Indian or foreign.

How to read Section 83

Cite the book — the Court trusts it.

Laws

Government-published statute collections — presumed genuine.

Reports

Books of court decisions (law reports) — presumed genuine.

Any country

Indian or foreign — a route to prove foreign law.

The bare Act

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

Section 83 · verbatim

The Court shall presume the genuineness of, every book purporting to be printed or published under the authority of the Government of any country, and to contain any of the laws of that country, and of every book purporting to contain reports of decisions of the Courts of such country.

In short: lawyers rely daily on statute books and law reports, and it would be absurd to prove the printing of each. So the Court shall presume genuine two classes of book: one that purports to be printed or published under a Government’s authority and to contain that country’s laws, and one that purports to contain reports of that country’s court decisions. Crucially the rule covers “any country” — so a party can prove a foreign statute or a foreign precedent by producing its authorised collection, without calling a witness to the printing. The presumption goes to the book’s genuineness only, not to the meaning or application of the law it contains.

→ This carries forward IEA 1872 § 84 — presumption as to collections of laws and reports of decisions.

Glossary

collection of laws

A statute book — a compilation of a country’s enacted laws.

reports of decisions

Law reports — published accounts of court judgments.

printed / published under Government authority

Issued officially — the trigger for the presumption.

any country

Indian or foreign — the rule is not confined to India.

genuineness

That the book is authentic — not what the law in it means.

shall presume

Mandatory but rebuttable — the standard presumption strength.

The picture

Two kinds of law book — both presumed genuine.

a book of a country’sLAWS or court REPORTSGovt-printed / publishedCourt shallpresume GENUINEno need to prove the printingANY countryIndian or foreign —proves foreign lawit presumes the book genuine — not what the law in it means or how it applies

The section, part by part

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

the ruleLaw books and law reports are trusted

In one lineThe Court shall presume genuine any book that purports to be Government-published and to contain a country’s laws or reports of its court decisions — of any country.
1A book of a country’slaws, or of itscourt decisions2Printed / publishedunder Governmentauthority3Court SHALLpresume itGENUINEyou can rely on a statute book or a law report without proving who printed it
The Court shall presume the genuineness of, every book purporting to be printed or published under the authority of the Government of any country,SHALL presume genuine: Govt-published booksthe Court shall presume genuine every book that purports to be printed or published under the Government authority of any country…
and to contain any of the laws of that country,containing that country’s LAWS…and to contain that country’s laws (a statute collection)…
and of every book purporting to contain reports of decisions of the Courts of such country.or its COURT reports (decisions)…and every book that purports to contain reports of that country’s court decisions (law reports).
ExampleA Government-published statute book, or a recognised law report of court decisions, is presumed genuine — Indian or foreign. To prove a foreign statute or precedent, produce the authorised collection.
✗ Not thisThe book must purport to be Government-published and to contain that country’s laws or its courts’ decisions. A private commentary or an unofficial compilation is not automatically covered.

what it coversStatutes, reports — Indian and foreign

In one lineTwo kinds of book are covered — collections of laws and reports of decisions — and the rule reaches any country, making it a practical route to prove foreign law.
a country’s LAWSthe statute collectionCOURT decisionsthe law reportsGovernment-published books of a country’s laws (statutes) and of its court decisions (law reports) are presumed genuine.
statute bookscollections of lawsofficial collections of a country’s laws are presumed genuine — cite them without proof.
law reportsreports of court decisionsbooks of court decisions (law reports) are equally presumed genuine.
any country — even foreigna way to prove foreign lawbecause it covers any country, a foreign statute or precedent can be proved by its authorised collection.
ExampleTo establish the law of a foreign country on a point, counsel may produce its official statute book or its recognised law reports — the Court presumes them genuine, rather than requiring an expert to prove the printing.
✗ Not thisThis presumes the book genuine — it does not decide what the foreign law means or how it applies; that remains a question the Court works out (often with expert help on foreign law).

Connected provisions

§ 80

Gazettes & newspapers

Another ‘shall presume’ for official published documents.

§ 77

Other official documents

Clause (d) proves foreign laws — § 83 presumes the law book genuine.

§ 84 · next

Powers-of-attorney

The presumptions run continues — powers-of-attorney, and more.

lineage

IEA 1872, § 84

Carried forward — collections of laws and reports of decisions.