Public Document
Definition
Defined under BSA 2023 Section 74. Records of sovereign authority, official bodies and public officers of India or a foreign country; public records of private documents kept in India.
- Statute
- Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam (BSA) 2023, Section 74
- Category 1
- Records of sovereign authority, official bodies, public officers
- Category 2
- Public records of private documents kept in India
Common questions
How does classification as a public document affect its use as evidence?+
Public documents carry a presumption of genuineness, so courts can accept certified copies as evidence without requiring production of the original, unlike private documents, which generally require proof of execution by a witness.
Do foreign official records qualify as public documents under BSA 2023?+
Yes. Section 74 extends the public document category to records of the sovereign authority, official bodies, and public officers of a foreign country, alongside equivalent Indian records.
Related terms
- Document
- Any matter expressed or described upon any substance by means of letters, figures or marks intended to be used for the purpose...
- Electronic Record
- Data generated, sent, received, or stored by electronic means, including emails, call data records, server logs, database entries, CCTV footage, and documents...
- Negotiable Instrument
- Defined under the Negotiable Instruments Act 1881 Section 13. Promissory note, bill of exchange or cheque payable to order or bearer.
- Private Document
- Defined under BSA 2023 Section 75. All documents other than public documents (personal letters, agreements, diaries, cheques in the hands of a...
- Questioned Document (QD)
- Any document whose authenticity, source, age, sequence of preparation or content is in dispute and requires examination by a forensic expert.
- Security Feature
- Engineered element of a document (watermark, security thread, microprinting, intaglio, optically variable ink, latent image, fluorescent fibres) that frustrates forgery and supports...
- Standard or Exemplar
- A document of known origin used for comparison with a questioned document. May be requested (taken under controlled conditions) or collected (from...
- Watermark
- A pattern formed in paper during manufacture by localised fibre-density variation on the Fourdrinier wire; visible in transmitted light as a lighter...