Evidence Act · Chapter V · Of documentary evidence

Evidence Act section 81 in the BSA

Evidence Act 81BSA 80

Evidence Act section 81, “Presumption as to Gazettes, newspapers, private Acts of Parliament and other documents”, is now BSA section 80 of the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023, in force from 1 July 2024.

What changed

From Evidence Act 81 to BSA 80

Now BSA section 80, with the same presumption for Gazettes and newspapers. The references to the London Gazette, colonial gazettes and private Acts of the UK Parliament are dropped, and an Explanation defines “proper custody”.

The official text

Old and new, side by side

Indian Evidence Act, 1872

Section 81 Presumption as to Gazettes, newspapers, private Acts of Parliament and other documents

The Court shall presume the genuineness of every document purporting to be the London Gazette or any Official Gazette, or the Government Gazette of any colony, dependency or possession of the British Crown, or to be a newspaper or journal, or to be a copy of a private Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom printed by the Queen’s Printer, and of every document purporting to be a document directed by any law to be kept by any person, if such document is kept substantially in the form required by law and is produced from proper custody.

Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023

Section 80 Presumption as to Gazettes, newspapers, and other documents

The Court shall presume the genuineness of every document purporting to be the Official Gazette, or to be a newspaper or journal, and of every document purporting to be a document directed by any law to be kept by any person, if such document is kept substantially in the form required by law and is produced from proper custody.

Explanation.—For the purposes of this section and section 92, document is said to be in proper custody if it is in the place in which, and looked after by the person with whom such document is required to be kept; but no custody is improper if it is proved to have had a legitimate origin, or if the circumstances of the particular case are such as to render that origin probable.

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amendment markers and footnotes of the official print are left out, so the old section reads as it stood when it was repealed.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The BSA repealed the Indian Evidence Act from 1 July 2024 (section 170(1)).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)).