Sections 86 and 87 of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872: Presumptions for Foreign Judicial Records, Books, Maps and Charts

Sections 86 and 87 of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872 deal with two specific evidentiary presumptions. Section 86 concerns certified copies of foreign judicial records, while Section 87 concerns certain books, published maps and charts used for matters of public or general interest.

Meaning of "may presume" under the Indian Evidence Act

Section 4 of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872 explains the expression "may presume". Where the Act provides that the Court may presume a fact, the Court has a discretion either to regard that fact as proved unless and until it is disproved, or to call for proof of it. Sections 86 and 87 therefore create permissive, not automatic or conclusive, presumptions.

Section 86 - Presumption as to certified copies of foreign judicial records

The section facilitates proof of foreign judicial records without requiring every foreign record to be proved from the beginning by formal evidence. The presumption is available only when the statutory conditions concerning the nature of the record and the mode of certification are satisfied.

Essential requirements of Section 86

• The document must purport to be a certified copy of a judicial record.
• The judicial record must be from a country not forming part of India.
• The mode of certification must be certified by a representative of the Central Government in or for that country as the mode commonly used there for certifying judicial records.
• When these requirements are met, the Court may presume the certified copy to be genuine and accurate; the wording does not compel the Court to draw the presumption in every case.

Political Agent provision

Section 86 also contains a deeming provision concerning a Political Agent for a territory or place outside India. For the purpose of the section, such an officer is treated as a representative of the Central Government in and for the country comprising that territory or place, subject to the statutory wording applicable to the provision.

Section 87 - Presumption as to books, maps and charts

Section 87 concerns the apparent authorship, publication, time and place of publication of qualifying books, maps and charts. The provision does not state that every factual assertion appearing in such a publication must be accepted as correct. The statements relied upon must independently be relevant under the law of evidence.

When Section 87 may apply

• For a book, the Court must be referring to it for information on a matter of public or general interest.
• For a map or chart, it must be published, its statements must be relevant facts, and it must be produced for the Court's inspection.
• The permissible presumption relates to the person by whom, and the time and place at which, the material purports to have been written or published.

Difference between Sections 86 and 87

Section 86 is directed to the genuineness and accuracy of properly certified copies of foreign judicial records. Section 87 deals with presumptions about the apparent authorship and publication particulars of qualifying books, maps and charts. Both use the expression "may presume", leaving the Court with statutory discretion under Section 4.

Practical evidentiary significance

These provisions reduce unnecessary formal proof where a document falls within a recognised category and satisfies the statutory conditions. They do not eliminate questions of relevance, admissibility or the weight ultimately to be given to the material. Parties should therefore examine both the requirements of the particular presumption and the other provisions of the Indian Evidence Act applicable to the fact sought to be proved.

Historical-law note: The Indian Evidence Act, 1872 has been repealed for the new evidence-law regime from 1 July 2024. This page deliberately presents the pre-Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam legal position requested for legacy and transitional matters.