Presumption as to certified copies of foreign judicial records
Section 86 of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872 deals with presumption as to certified copies of foreign judicial records. The Court may presume that any document purporting to be a certified copy of any judicial record of [ * * any country not forming part of India or] of Her Majesty’s Dominions is genuine and accurate, if the document purports to be certified in any manner which is certified by any representative of * 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 Repealed by section 170 of the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023 (47 of 2023) with effect from 1 July 2024, but conduct before that date is still charged, tried and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 Court may presume that any document purporting to be a certified copy of any judicial record of [ * * any country not forming part of India or] of Her Majesty’s Dominions is genuine and accurate, if the document purports to be certified in any manner which is certified by any representative of * * the [Central Government] [in or for] [such country] to be the manner commonly in use in [that country] for the certification of of judicial records. [An officer who, with respect to any territory or place not forming part of [India or] Her Majesty’s Dominions, is a Political Agent there for, as defined in section 3, [clause (43)], of the General
Clauses Act, 1897 (10 of 1897), shall, for the purposes of this section, be deemed to be a representative of the [Central Government] [in and for the country] comprising that territory or place].
Section 86, The Indian Evidence Act, 1872 (Act 1 of 1872).
Now in the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam
BSA 88 Presumption as to certified copies of foreign judicial records Text carried over almost unchanged 95%
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 The repealed enactment still governs what happened while it was in force.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.
This section refers to
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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… Nurteza Kilickaya, the owner of the restaurant who had given the photograph and who was instrumental in identification of the accused/respondent, was not examined. The copy of the Order of the court of Germany convicting the other two accused has not been proved according to Section 86 of the Indian Evidence Act. There were material contradictions in the testimony of the prosecutrix. The fingerprints that were lifted from the Beer bottle were not sent to India for matching it with the fingerprints of the accused/respondent. The DNA profiling of the accused/respondent though done, but the FSL …
Questions about Section 86
What does Section 86 of the Indian Evidence Act deal with?
Section 86 of the Indian Evidence Act is headed "Presumption as to certified copies of foreign judicial records". The Court may presume that any document purporting to be a certified copy of any judicial record of [ * * any country not forming part of India or] of Her Majesty’s Dominions is genuine and accurate, if the document purports to be certified in any manner which is certified by any representative of *
How do I find court cases under Section 86 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 86, section 86 IEA, section 86 of the Indian Evidence Act. People searching for it also type evidence act 1995 section 86. Each opens the full list of orders on eCourtsIndia, where it can be narrowed by court, year and outcome.
What should I read with Section 86 of the Indian Evidence Act, and has it changed?
Its own text turns on section 3 (Interpretation-clause), so none of them can safely be read on its own. For anything done on or after 1 July 2024 the provision to read is BSA 88 (Presumption as to certified copies of foreign judicial records), which replaced it; conduct before that date is still charged, tried and appealed under this section.
When did Section 86 of the Indian Evidence Act come into force?
Section 86 of the Indian Evidence Act, cited as IEA 86, 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.