Public documents
Section 74 of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872 deals with public documents. The following documents are public documents: –– (1) documents forming the acts or records of the acts –– (i) of the sovereign authority, (ii) of official bodies and tribunals, and (iii) of public officers, legislative, judicial and executive, [of any part of India or of the Commonwealth], or of a f The Act came into force on 01 Sep 1872. Repealed by section 170 of the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023 (47 of 2023) with effect from 1 July 2024, but conduct before that date is still charged, tried and appealed under it.
The following documents are public documents: –– (1) documents forming the acts or records of the acts –– (i) of the sovereign authority, (ii) of official bodies and tribunals, and (iii) of public officers, legislative, judicial and executive, [of any part of India or of the Commonwealth], or of a foreign country;
(2) public records kept [in any State] of private documents.
Section 74, The Indian Evidence Act, 1872 (Act 1 of 1872).
Now in the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam
BSA 74 Public and private documents Close, with changes 84%
Measured by comparing the text of the two provisions, not taken from an official correspondence table — there is no machine-readable one. See both texts side by side before relying on it.
Both regimes are live. The repealed enactment still governs what happened while it was in force. We never redirect one to the other.
Cross-references
Extracted from the operative text of the enactments themselves. Every destination below exists in our corpus.
Referred to by 10
- Andhra Pradesh Para Medical Board Act s. 15 Maintenance of registers
- Andhra Pradesh Para Veterinary and Allied Council Act s. 15 Maintenance of Registers
- Andhra Pradesh State Agricultural Council Act s. 24 Andhra Pradesh State Agricultural/Horticultural Practitioners Register
- Haryana State Council for Physiotherapy Act, 2020 (6 of 2020) s. 29
- s. 65 Cases in which secondary evidence relating to documents may be given
- Kerala State Medical Practitioners Act s. 20 Duties of Registrar
- National Dental Commission Act s. 30 National Register and State Register
- National Medical Commission Act s. 31 National Register and State Register
- National Nursing and Midwifery Commission Act s. 25 National Register and State Register
- Telangana Para Medical Board Act s. 45
Related judgements & precedents
These are some judgments that construed this section, and hold precedence value. They hold authority on how to read, interpret and use this section.
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Anita Malhotra v. Apparel Export Promotion Council
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
Judgment of Main Case order-6.pdf 2011-11-08 (not same-date order-7 ROP). Crl A 2010. A certificate of incorporation is a public document under IEA 74/78; its certified copy proves the company's status without calling a witness. Map iea 74 and successor bsa 74 (public and private documents).
On this section: s.74 public documents: a certificate of incorporation is a public document; a certified copy proves the company's status without calling a witness (ss.74/76/77/78).
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Jakir Ali @ Zakir Ali vs The State of Bihar
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
An informatory petition filed by a private citizen under Section 39 of the Criminal Procedure Code is not a public document within the meaning of Section 74 of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872, because it is created by a private person and not by a public servant in discharge of official duty. Mere custody of a document in a public office is insufficient to classify it as a public document; the document must have been created by a public servant performing official functions.
On this section: Defines public documents as documents forming acts or records of sovereign authority, official bodies, tribunals, and public officers. The court applied this section to determine whether an informatory petition qualifies as a public document.
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Vls Prasad vs Strip India Ltd.
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
A Power of Attorney is legally terminated automatically upon the death of the principal executant. Any subsequent sale deed executed by the attorney on behalf of the deceased principal is void and can transfer no right, title, or interest.
On this section: Applied to determine the admissibility, presumption of genuineness, and proof of legal heir certificates and death certificates as public records.
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Jagdish Chandra vs C.b.i.
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
Hard discs on which intercepted telephone conversations have been recorded are electronic records and therefore documents within the meaning of Section 173(5)(a) read with Section 207(v) CrPC. The prosecution is obliged to furnish to the accused copies of only such documents that it proposes to rely upon as indicated in the charge sheet or of those already sent to the court during investigation. At the pre-charge stage, the trial court cannot direct the prosecution to furnish copies of documents other than those which it proposes to rely upon. However, where the charge sheet indicates that the prosecution is relying upon certain documents, the accused must be given access to those documents. In the instant case, the scope of the APFSL examination was to certify that the hard discs were properly functioning and that the calls copied on to the CDs were true copies of the original recordings in the hard discs. Only to this extent can it be said that the hard discs are being relied upon by the prosecution. The certification in terms of Section 65B(4) EA does not obviate the statutory requirement under Section 207(v) of providing to the accused access to the original recording of the relevant intercepted telephone conversation as a relied upon document. Therefore, the accused should be permitted to listen to the original recordings of the relevant intercepted telephonic conversations relied upon by the prosecution by having the said original recordings played directly from the hard discs in the presence of the accused or their representatives, their counsel and the learned Judge.
On this section: Public documents definition
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Lrs of Smt. Devi vs Lrs of Nemi Chand
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
Certified copies of public documents, particularly those containing information in the public domain (such as DLC rates), need not be proved through the testimony of the concerned officer. Unless there is a specific dispute or considerable rebuttal raised regarding the authenticity or accuracy of such public documents, summoning the officer would constitute wasteful use of judicial and administrative resources and cannot be permitted.
On this section: Defines public documents as documents forming acts or records of the acts of public officers
The holding above is the ratio decidendi as extracted from the judgment by eCourts India, reproduced unaltered — it is a rendering of the court's reasoning, not a substitute for its words. Read the order itself before relying on it.
Judgments citing this section
These may be obiter dicta or a precedent, for you to study. These are the judgments where this section is quoted.
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… Nonetheless, pertinently the RP after having been approved by the NCLT under Section 31 of IBC, would become a "Public Document" within the meaning of Section 74 of the Indian Evidence Act, and therefore, they would be entitled to get, at the most, a certified copy of the approved RP. 110. In that view of the matter, we do not find any merits in the Appeals filed by the Appellants in this Third Category of Appeals. <span id="page-142-0"></span> (IX) CONCLUSION …
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… Nonetheless, pertinently the RP after having been approved by the NCLT under Section 31 of IBC, would become a "Public Document" within the meaning of Section 74 of the Indian Evidence Act, and therefore, they would be entitled to get, at the most, a certified copy of the approved RP. 110. In that view of the matter, we do not find any merits in the Appeals filed by the Appellants in this Third Category of Appeals. <span id="page-142-0"></span> (IX) CONCLUSION …
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… Nonetheless, pertinently the RP after having been approved by the NCLT under Section 31 of IBC, would become a "Public Document" within the meaning of Section 74 of the Indian Evidence Act, and therefore, they would be entitled to get, at the most, a certified copy of the approved RP. 110. In that view of the matter, we do not find any merits in the Appeals filed by the Appellants in this Third Category of Appeals. <span id="page-142-0"></span> (IX) CONCLUSION …
Questions about Section 74
What have the courts held on Section 74 of the Indian Evidence Act?
Anita Malhotra v. Apparel Export Promotion Council (08 Nov 2011) is the leading judgment on this section among those set out below: s.74 public documents: a certificate of incorporation is a public document; a certified copy proves the company's status without calling a witness (ss.74/76/77/78). Another 4 judgments on this section are set out below, 1 of them from the Supreme Court. They run from 2008 to 2022.
How do I find court cases under Section 74 of the Indian Evidence Act?
In judgments and charge sheets this section is written several ways, and each form finds a different set of orders. These search the full text of every order eCourtsIndia holds, best matches first: IEA 74, section 74 IEA, section 74 of the Indian Evidence Act. People searching for it also type indian evidence act 74 and indian evidence act section 74 & 76. Each opens the full list of orders on eCourtsIndia, where it can be narrowed by court, year and outcome. 5 reported judgments on this section are set out on this page, beginning with Anita Malhotra v. Apparel Export Promotion Council (08 Nov 2011).
What should I read with Section 74 of the Indian Evidence Act, and has it changed?
10 other provisions in this corpus refer back to it. For anything done on or after 1 July 2024 the provision to read is BSA 74 (Public and private documents), which replaced it; conduct before that date is still charged, tried and appealed under this section.
When did Section 74 of the Indian Evidence Act come into force?
Section 74 of the Indian Evidence Act, cited as IEA 74, came into force on 01 Sep 1872, having been enacted on 15 Mar 1872. It is no longer in force.
Other sections of this Act
- 32. Cases in which statement of relevant fact by person who is dead or cannot be found, etc., is relevant1207 words
- 14. Facts showing existence of state of mind, or of body of bodily feeling1080 words
- 92. Exclusion of evidence of oral agreement809 words
- 8. Motive, preparation and previous or subsequent conduct773 words
- 65B. Admissibility of electronic records743 words
- 3. Interpretation-clause667 words
Source and method. Compiled from the enactments of Parliament and of the State legislatures as published on India Code, and republished together with commentary and other original matter under section 52(1)(q)(ii) of the Copyright Act, 1957. Structured, cross-referenced and maintained by eCourtsIndia. Recovered from the consolidated text published by India Code (item e51341fa-7528-4327-9a57-5d194e16db6f). This page is not a substitute for legal advice.