Sections 77 and 78 of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872: Proof by Certified Copies and Other Official Documents

Sections 77 and 78 formed part of the statutory scheme for proving public and official documents under the Indian Evidence Act, 1872. Section 77 permitted certified copies to prove the contents of public documents, while Section 78 prescribed particular modes for proving specified classes of official documents.

Applicable-law note: This article explains Sections 77 and 78 as they stood immediately before the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023 came into force on 1 July 2024. The Indian Evidence Act, 1872 has since been repealed, but Section 170(2) of the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam preserves the 1872 Act for an application, trial, inquiry, investigation, proceeding or appeal that was pending immediately before commencement of the new law.
Contents

Section 77: Proof of Documents by Production of Certified Copies

Statutory rule

Such certified copies may be produced in proof of the contents of the public documents or parts of the public documents of which they purport to be copies.

Meaning: Section 77 provided an evidentiary method for proving the contents of a public document through a certified copy. It operated with the preceding provisions dealing with public documents and certified copies, particularly Sections 74 and 76. Where a document qualified as a public document and a certified copy was lawfully obtainable, Section 77 allowed that certified copy to be produced to prove its contents.

The provision did not itself define a public document or prescribe who must issue the certified copy. Those matters were addressed by the surrounding provisions of the Act. The important function of Section 77 was to recognize the certified copy as a mode of proof of the contents of the public document of which it purported to be a copy.

Section 78: Proof of Other Official Documents

Section 78 dealt with specified categories of public documents and identified the manner in which each category could be proved. The provision, as applicable immediately before 1 July 2024, covered the following classes:

  1. Acts, orders or notifications of the Central Government or a State Government and their departments: by departmental records certified by the respective heads of departments, or by a document purporting to be printed by order of the Government concerned.
  2. Proceedings of the Legislatures: by the journals of those bodies, by published Acts or abstracts, or by copies purporting to be printed by order of the Government concerned.
  3. Proclamations, orders or regulations historically issued by Her Majesty, the Privy Council or departments of Her Majesty's Government: by copies or extracts contained in the London Gazette or purporting to be printed by the Queen's Printer.
  4. Acts of the Executive or proceedings of the Legislature of a foreign country: by journals published by their authority or commonly received in that country as such, by a copy certified under the seal of the country or sovereign, or by recognition in a Central Act.
  5. Proceedings of a municipal body in a State: by a copy certified by the legal keeper of the proceedings, or by a printed book purporting to be published by the authority of that body.
  6. Public documents of any other class in a foreign country: by the original, or by a copy certified by the legal keeper, accompanied by the prescribed authentication from a Notary Public, Indian Consul or diplomatic agent, together with proof of the character of the document according to the law of the foreign country.

How Sections 74 to 78 Worked Together

The provisions formed a connected scheme. Section 74 identified public documents; Section 75 treated all other documents as private documents; Section 76 dealt with certified copies of public documents; Section 77 permitted those certified copies to prove the contents of the public documents; and Section 78 laid down special modes for proving particular official documents.

Accordingly, the first question was ordinarily the legal character of the document. Once it was established that the document was a public or official document falling within the relevant statutory provisions, the appropriate mode of proof could be determined under Sections 76, 77 and 78.

Practical Meaning of Sections 77 and 78

Section 77 reduced the need to produce the original public record whenever the Act permitted proof through a certified copy. Section 78 addressed official records for which the legislature specified particular recognized sources of proof, such as certified departmental records, official publications, legislative journals and authenticated foreign public documents.

Important: The evidentiary value of a particular copy still depends on whether the document and certification satisfy the applicable statutory requirements. Sections 77 and 78 should therefore be read with Sections 74 to 76 and, where relevant, the provisions governing presumptions relating to certified copies and official documents.

Current Legal Position

The Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023 came into force on 1 July 2024 and repealed the Indian Evidence Act, 1872. Its repeal-and-savings provision preserves the old Act for matters that were already pending immediately before that commencement date. This page is intentionally focused on the law applicable immediately before implementation of the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023.

For the original statutory context, see the Indian Evidence Act, 1872 index on this website.