§ SECTION 84 · BSA 2023 · CHAPTER V — DOCUMENTARY EVIDENCE

Presumption as to powers-of-attorney

Authentication carries its own weight. The Court shall presume that a power-of-attorney executed before and authenticated by a Notary, Court, Consul or Central-Government representative was so executed and authenticated — no need to call the officer.

How to read Section 84

Authenticated by the right officer → presumed regular.

The document

A power-of-attorney.

The condition

Executed before & authenticated by a Notary / Court / Consul / Govt rep.

The effect

Presumed so executed and authenticated — no officer to call.

The bare Act

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

Section 84 · verbatim

The Court shall presume that every document purporting to be a power-of-attorney, and to have been executed before, and authenticated by, a Notary Public, or any Court, Judge, Magistrate, Indian Consul or Vice-Consul, or representative of the Central Government, was so executed and authenticated.

In short: a power-of-attorney delegates authority, and proving its execution afresh — often across borders — would be cumbersome. So where a PoA purports to have been executed before and authenticated by one of a short list of trusted officials — a Notary Public, a Court, Judge or Magistrate, an Indian Consul or Vice-Consul, or a representative of the Central Government — the Court shall presume it was indeed so executed and authenticated. The practical value is greatest for PoAs made overseas, which can be authenticated before an Indian Consul and then relied on in India without producing the officer. The presumption is about the fact of due execution / authentication — not the truth of anything the PoA asserts, and (as a ‘shall presume’) it remains rebuttable.

→ This carries forward IEA 1872 § 85 — presumption as to powers-of-attorney.

Glossary

power-of-attorney

A document delegating authority to another to act for the maker.

executed

Made / signed — here, before an authenticating officer.

authenticated

Certified by the officer as genuinely executed before him.

Notary Public

An officer who attests documents — one of the listed authenticators.

Indian Consul / Vice-Consul

India’s officers abroad — the route for overseas PoAs.

representative of the Central Government

An authorised official — also within the list.

The picture

Authenticated by the right hand — presumed done.

The section, part by part

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

The ruleWho & why

the ruleAn authenticated power-of-attorney is trusted

In one lineIf a document purports to be a power-of-attorney executed before and authenticated by a Notary, Court, Judge, Magistrate, Indian Consul / Vice-Consul or a Central-Government representative, the Court shall presume it was so executed and authenticated.

The Court shall presume that every document purporting to be a power-of-attorney,SHALL presume: a power-of-attorneythe Court shall presume that any document that purports to be a power-of-attorney…

and to have been executed before, and authenticated by, a Notary Public, or any Court, Judge, Magistrate, Indian Consul or Vice-Consul, or representative of the Central Government,authenticated before an authorised official…and to have been executed before and authenticated by a Notary Public, a Court / Judge / Magistrate, an Indian Consul or Vice-Consul, or a representative of the Central Government…

was so executed and authenticated.→ presumed so executed & authenticated…was so executed and authenticated.

ExampleA power-of-attorney executed abroad before an Indian Consul, or a notarised PoA, is presumed to have been so executed and authenticated — you need not call the notary or consul to prove it.

✗ Not thisThe presumption needs authentication before one of the listed officials. A PoA merely signed before ordinary witnesses (no notary / consul) does not attract it — and it presumes execution / authentication, not the truth of facts stated in the PoA.

who & whyThe authenticating officials

In one lineThe presumption turns on who authenticated the PoA. A short list of trusted officials makes a PoA self-proving — especially handy for PoAs executed overseas before an Indian Consul.

the authorised officialswho may authenticatea Notary Public, a Court / Judge / Magistrate, an Indian Consul / Vice-Consul, or a representative of the Central Government.

presumed duly executedno officer to callthe Court presumes the PoA was duly executed and authenticated — you need not summon the authenticating officer.

useful for foreign PoAsthe consul routea PoA executed abroad before an Indian Consul is presumed regular — a practical bridge across borders.

ExampleAn NRI abroad executes a PoA before the Indian Consulate to let a relative sell property in India. In the suit, the Court presumes it duly executed — no consular officer need testify.

✗ Not thisThe list is specific. Authentication before some other foreign notary not within the section may still be provable, but does not get this automatic presumption.

Connected provisions

§ 78

IEA 1872, § 85

Carried forward — presumption as to powers-of-attorney.

Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023 — Section 84: Presumption as to powers-of-attorney