Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023
Section 75
Certified copies of public documents
Every public officer having the custody of a public document, which any person has a right to inspect, shall give that person on demand a copy of it on payment of the legal fees therefor, together with a certificate written at the foot of such copy that it is a true copy of such document or part thereof, as the case may be, and such certificate shall be dated and subscribed by such officer with his name and his official title, and shall be sealed, whenever such officer is authorised by law to make use of a seal; and such copies so certified shall be called certified copies. Explanation.—Any officer who, by the ordinary course of official duty, is authorised to deliver such copies, shall be deemed to have the custody of such documents within the meaning of this section.
Why this exists
This provision continues a rule first codified in the Indian Evidence Act, 1872 (Section 76), carried forward almost verbatim into the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023. Public records—land registers, court orders, birth certificates, government notifications—are often needed as proof in disputes, but originals cannot be handed out or risked in every courtroom. The law therefore lets certified copies stand in for originals, provided they are properly authenticated by the custodian officer, ensuring reliability while protecting the original record.
How courts read it
Courts have long held that a 'certified copy' under this provision (and its predecessor Section 76 of the Evidence Act) is admissible as secondary evidence of the document's contents without needing to produce the original, provided the certifying officer had actual custody and followed the prescribed format—signature, date, official title, and seal where applicable. Judgments have emphasized that defects in certification (e.g., missing seal or wrong officer) can affect evidentiary value, and that the 'right to inspect' must genuinely exist under some other law before this section's duty to supply a copy arises.
Common misconceptions
- Myth: Anyone can demand a certified copy of any government document.
Fact: The law only requires this if the person already has a legal right to inspect that particular document under some other law or rule. - Myth: A photocopy from a government office is automatically a 'certified copy.'
Fact: It becomes a certified copy only when the authorized officer adds the dated certificate, signature, official title, and seal (where applicable) as required by this section.