Evidence Act · Chapter V · Of documentary evidence
Evidence Act section 74, “Public documents”, is now BSA section 74(1) of the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023, in force from 1 July 2024.
Now sub-section (1) of BSA section 74, “Public and private documents”, with the same definition; references to the Commonwealth are dropped and Union territories are covered.
Indian Evidence Act, 1872
The following documents are public documents: ––
(1) 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 any part of India or of the Commonwealth, or of a foreign country;
(2) Public records kept in any State of private documents.
Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023
The part that carries Evidence Act 74 is marked.
(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.
The texts are India Code’s. The amendment markers and footnotes of the official print are left out, so the old section reads as it stood when it was repealed. The PDFs linked below carry the full history.
The BSA repealed the Indian Evidence Act from 1 July 2024 (section 170(1)). Any application, trial, inquiry, investigation, proceeding or appeal pending immediately before that date is dealt with under the Evidence Act as it then stood, as if the BSA had not come into force (section 170(2)).
