Public and Private Documents Under the BSA (Section 74): Evidence Act 74 Mapping (2026)

Explainer · Evidence Law · BSA

Updated for 2026 · Claw Editorial

Whether a document is public or private decides how you prove it in court. A public document, like a court order or a land record, can be proved by a certified copy, without producing the original. A private document, like a contract between two people, usually needs the original and proof of who signed it. Getting this wrong can sink an otherwise good case. Section 74 of the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023 (BSA), which replaced the Indian Evidence Act, 1872 from 1 July 2024, draws this line. This explainer sets out what is public and what is private, how certified copies work, and how Section 74 maps to the old Evidence Act. Last verified October 2026.

01Why the public and private line matters

Every document you want to rely on has to be proved. The method depends on the kind of document. For a public document, the law makes life easier: a certified copy is enough, and you do not have to bring the original from a government office. For a private document, the usual rule is the original, with proof of signing and execution.

So the first question for any document is simple: is it public or private. The answer sets the whole method of proof, and a wrong assumption can leave a key document inadmissible.

02What public and private documents are

A public document is a record made or kept by a public authority in the course of official duty. A private document is everything else. Section 74 of the BSA defines both by setting out what is public, and then saying all other documents are private.

Public or private is the first question for any document, because it decides whether a certified copy will do.

The practical value of the public category is that it can be proved by a certified copy, which is a safe and simple route.

03Section 74: the two categories

Section 74 of the BSA has two parts. Sub-section (1) lists public documents. Sub-section (2) says the rest are private.

Public documents include:

• documents forming the acts or records of the acts of sovereign authority;
• documents forming the acts or records of official bodies and tribunals;
• documents forming the acts or records of public officers, legislative, judicial and executive, of India or of a foreign country;
• public records kept in any State or Union territory of private documents.

Private documents are all other documents. A contract, a personal letter, or a company agreement held privately is a private document.

So a court judgment, an FIR copy from the record, a registered sale deed held in the registration office, and a birth or death register entry sit on the public side. A private agreement between two parties sits on the private side.

04Proving a public document by certified copy

The reason the public category matters is the certified copy. The BSA, in the sections that follow Section 74, sets out how a public document is proved.

• A public officer who has custody of a public document that a person has a right to inspect must, on demand and payment of the legal fee, give that person a copy with a certificate that it is a true copy. Such a copy is a certified copy.
• The certificate must be dated and signed by the officer with their name and official title, and sealed where the officer is authorised to use a seal.
• A public document may then be proved by producing the certified copy, and nothing else needs to be proved about it.

For how secondary evidence works more broadly, see secondary evidence under BSA Section 58.

05Old law to new law

These rules are not new. They carry over from the Indian Evidence Act, 1872. The BSA re-arranges them, bringing public and private documents into a single Section 74.

So the old Evidence Act had public documents in Section 74 and private documents in Section 75. The BSA merges both into Section 74, and the certified copy provisions follow. For the wider shift, see key changes from the Evidence Act to the BSA.

06Practical points

• Classify the document first. Decide if it is public or private before you plan how to prove it.
• Use certified copies for public documents. Get a proper certified copy with a dated, signed, and where needed sealed certificate.
• Keep the original for private documents. A private document usually needs the original and proof of signing.
• Check the custody. A public record is proved from the office that keeps it, so note where the record is held.
• Mind electronic public records. Many public records are now digital, so read this with the rules on electronic evidence and presumptions about electronic records.

07Where Claw fits

Claw is an all-in-one legaltech platform for Indian advocates, law firms, and corporate legal teams, combining AI-based case search, an AI legal assistant (Legal GPT), case management, and compliance automation across all Indian courts and tribunals.

Whether a record is a public document, and whether a certified copy will prove it, is a question courts have answered again and again. Claw lets you read that case law quickly: a single search runs across more than 30 crore judgments and returns results in well under five seconds, so you can see how benches have treated certified copies and public records under Section 74 and the old Evidence Act. Coverage runs deep too, with Supreme Court decisions from 1950 and High Court decisions from 1990. When a documentary-proof dispute is already live, Claw follows the cases, orders and hearings for you across 9,102 courts, benches and forums, searchable by party name or advocate name. Begin at the case search across Indian courts hub.

Open a free Claw account and start pulling authorities on public and private documents today. Claw is a research and tracking tool, not a substitute for your counsel, and it does not use customer case documents to train its AI models.

08Sources and further reading

• India Code (official text of the BSA, 2023): indiacode.nic.in
• BSA Section 74 (commentary): vidhijudicial.com
• Claw: clawlaw.in

This explainer is general information, not legal advice. The law changes through amendments and judgments, so check the current text and take advice from counsel before you act.

09Frequently asked questions