Public and private documents.

What this section does

The section classifies documents into public and private categories. Public documents include acts or records of sovereign authority, official bodies, tribunals, and public officers (legislative, judicial, and executive) of India or a foreign country, as well as public records of private documents kept in any State or Union territory. All other documents are private documents.

AI-generated plain-language summary. For the binding statutory text, see India Code (official).

The rule in one line

Documents forming acts or records of sovereign, official, or public bodies and public records of private documents are public documents; all others are private.

When it applies

• A certified copy of a court judgment is a public document as it is a record of a judicial officer.
• A private sale deed registered and kept in the Sub-Registrar's office constitutes a public record of a private document and is therefore a public document.

• EVIDENCE Section 74 — Public documents