Evidence Act · Chapter V · Of documentary evidence

Evidence Act section 80 in the BSA

Evidence Act 80BSA 79

Evidence Act section 80, “Presumption as to documents produced as record of evidence”, is now BSA section 79 of the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023, in force from 1 July 2024.

What changed

From Evidence Act 80 to BSA 79

Now BSA section 79, with the same presumption.

The official text

Old and new, side by side

Indian Evidence Act, 1872

Section 80 Presumption as to documents produced as record of evidence

Whenever any document is produced before any Court, purporting to be a record or memorandum of the evidence, or of any part of the evidence, given by a witness in a judicial proceeding or before any officer authorized by law to take such evidence or to be a statement or confession by any prisoner or accused person, taken in accordance with law, and purporting to be signed by any Judge or Magistrate, or by any such officer as aforesaid, the Court shall presume––

that the document is genuine; that any statements as to the circumstances under which it was taken, purporting to be made by the person signing it, are true, and that such evidence, statement or confession was duly taken.

Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023

Section 79 Presumption as to documents produced as record of evidence, etc

Whenever any document is produced before any Court, purporting to be a record or memorandum of the evidence, or of any part of the evidence, given by a witness in a judicial proceeding or before any officer authorised by law to take such evidence or to be a statement or confession by any prisoner or accused person, taken in accordance with law, and purporting to be signed by any Judge or Magistrate, or by any such officer as aforesaid, the Court shall presume that—

(i) the document is genuine;

(ii) any statements as to the circumstances under which it was taken, purporting to be made by the person signing it, are true; and

(iii) such evidence, statement or confession was duly taken.

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amendment markers and footnotes of the official print are left out, so the old section reads as it stood when it was repealed.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.

Old law or new?

Which one applies to a case

The BSA repealed the Indian Evidence Act from 1 July 2024 (section 170(1)).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)).