Indian Evidence Act, 1872 · Chapter V: Of Documentary Evidence · Public documents
Section 76: Certified copies of public documents
The Indian Evidence Act, 1872 was repealed and replaced by the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023 from 1 July 2024. It still applies to offences and proceedings from before that date.
Every5 public officer having the custody of a public document, which any person has a right to inspect, shall give that person on demand a copy of it on payment of the legal fees there for, together with a certificate written at the foot of such copy that it is a true copy of such document or part thereof, as the case may be, and such certificate shall be dated and subscribed by such officer with his name and his official title, and shall be sealed, whenever such officer is authorised by law to make use of a seal; and such copies so certified shall be called certified copies.
Explanation.––Any officer who, by the ordinary course of official duty, is authorised to deliver such copies, shall be deemed to have the custody of such documents within the meaning of this section.
Corresponding sections were matched by comparing the wording of both official texts, and for the IPC and BNS, also against a published correspondence table. Wording, punishments and structure often changed, so read both sections before relying on the match.
Source: India Code (Legislative Department), the text of the Act as it stood before its repeal. Words in square brackets [ ] were inserted or substituted by later amending Acts, and *** marks words omitted by an amendment. The amendment footnotes are not reproduced here.
Supreme Court judgments citing the section 76
- Harendra Rai v. The State of Bihar & Ors.
- M/s N. N. GLOBAL MERCANTILE PRIVATE LIMITED v. M/s
- Saurav Das v. Union of India & Ors.
- Attorney General for India v. Satish and Another
- Tukaram S. Dighole v. Manikrao Shivaji Kokate
- Ila Vipin Pandya v. Smita Ambalal Patel & Anr.
- Ravi Khullarand Anr v. Union of India and Ors.
- State Through Inspector of Police, A.P. v. K. Narasimhachary