Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023
Section 79 BSA: Presumption as to Documents Produced as Record of Evidence, etc.
Section 79 of the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023 deals with the evidentiary presumption attached to certain judicial records, statements and confessions that purport to have been lawfully recorded and signed by a Judge, Magistrate or other officer authorised to take evidence.
Text of Section 79, Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023
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 -
- the document is genuine;
- any statements as to the circumstances under which it was taken, purporting to be made by the person signing it, are true; and
- such evidence, statement or confession was duly taken.
What Section 79 means
The provision creates a statutory presumption in favour of specified records produced before a Court. Where the document purports to record evidence given in a judicial proceeding, evidence taken by an officer authorised by law, or a statement or confession of a prisoner or accused person taken according to law, and it purports to bear the signature of the appropriate judicial or authorised officer, the Court is required to presume the matters listed in clauses (i) to (iii).
| Requirement | A document is produced before a Court and purports to fall within the class described in Section 79. |
|---|---|
| Covered records | Records or memoranda of evidence, or statements or confessions of a prisoner or accused person, subject to the statutory conditions. |
| Signature | The document must purport to be signed by a Judge, Magistrate or other officer authorised by law to take the evidence. |
| Effect | The Court shall presume genuineness, truth of recorded circumstances stated by the signatory, and due taking of the evidence, statement or confession. |
| Nature of presumption | The presumption is rebuttable because the BSA definition of "shall presume" requires the Court to regard the fact as proved unless and until it is disproved. |
Meaning of "shall presume" under the BSA
Section 2(1)(l) of the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam defines "shall presume" to mean that when the Adhiniyam directs the Court to presume a fact, the Court shall regard that fact as proved unless and until it is disproved.
This is important for Section 79. The Court does not merely have a discretion to draw the presumption. Once the statutory conditions are satisfied, the prescribed facts are to be treated as proved unless contrary material displaces the presumption.
Practical scope of Section 79
Section 79 is concerned with the authenticity and regularity of the specified judicial or official record. It assists the Court by dispensing with the need to prove afresh, in the ordinary course, that the document is genuine, that the recorded circumstances stated by the signatory are true, and that the evidence, statement or confession was duly taken. The provision remains subject to its own conditions and to any legally admissible material capable of rebutting the presumption.
Related provisions
Section 79 sits within the BSA provisions on presumptions as to documents. Readers may also refer to Section 78 - Presumption as to genuineness of certified copies and Section 80 - Presumption as to Gazettes, newspapers, and other documents.
Official legal sources
This page is intended for legal information and statutory reference. For application to a particular proceeding, consult the current text of the law and applicable judicial decisions.