Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023 - Documentary Evidence
Section 92 BSA: Presumption as to Documents Thirty Years Old
Section 92 of the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023 deals with the evidentiary presumption that a Court may draw in relation to a document that is thirty years old and is produced from custody which the Court considers proper.
Text and meaning of Section 92
92. Presumption as to documents thirty years old. Where a document purports or is proved to be thirty years old and is produced from custody which the Court considers proper in the circumstances of the case, the Court may presume that the signature and other handwriting appearing to be that of a particular person is in that person's handwriting. Where the document purports to have been executed or attested, the Court may also presume due execution and attestation by the persons shown as having executed or attested it.
Explanation: The Explanation to Section 80 also applies to Section 92.
What Section 92 means
The provision is intended to facilitate proof of genuinely old documents where direct evidence of handwriting, execution or attestation may no longer be readily available. It does not make the presumption automatic. The words "may presume" leave the matter to the judicial discretion of the Court after considering the age of the document, the source from which it is produced and the surrounding circumstances.
- Thirty-year requirement: The document must purport, or be proved, to be at least thirty years old.
- Proper custody: The document must come from custody which the Court considers proper in the circumstances.
- Handwriting and signature: The Court may presume that handwriting or a signature purporting to be that of a particular person is that person's handwriting or signature.
- Execution and attestation: If the document purports to have been executed or attested, the Court may presume due execution and attestation by the persons named.
- Discretionary presumption: Section 92 uses "may presume"; therefore the Court is permitted, but not compelled, to draw the presumption.
Meaning of proper custody
Proper custody does not mean that the document must necessarily come from one fixed place or one particular person. The controlling question is whether the custody is natural and reasonable having regard to the document, the property or transaction to which it relates, and the circumstances in which it was kept and produced. Section 92 expressly applies the Explanation to Section 80 for this purpose.
Illustrations under Section 92
Practical effect of the presumption
When the statutory conditions are satisfied, Section 92 can reduce the need for separate proof of the apparent handwriting, signature, execution and attestation of a very old document. The provision concerns a presumption regarding authenticity of those features; the weight to be given to the document and the facts sought to be proved by it remain matters for the Court to evaluate in the case as a whole.
Related BSA provisions
Section 92 should be read with the surrounding provisions on documentary presumptions, especially Section 91 on documents not produced after notice and Section 93 on electronic records five years old. The broader statutory framework is available on the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023 overview page.
Official references: India Code - Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023 and Ministry of Home Affairs commencement notification dated 23 February 2024.