Section 79
Presumption as to documents produced as record of evidence, etc
Reviewed by Ravi Sisodia · Last reviewed 10 October 2026
Official text of section 79 of the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023 (Chapter V: Of documentary evidence), with the matching section of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872.
Section 79, official text
Whenever any document is produced before any Court, purporting to be a record or memorandum of the evidence, or of any part of the evidence, given by a witness in a judicial proceeding or before any officer authorised by law to take such evidence or to be a statement or confession by any prisoner or accused person, taken in accordance with law, and purporting to be signed by any Judge or Magistrate, or by any such officer as aforesaid, the Court shall presume that—
(i) the document is genuine;
(ii) any statements as to the circumstances under which it was taken, purporting to be made by the person signing it, are true;
(iii) such evidence, statement or confession was duly taken.
Source: The Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023 (Act 47 of 2023), Gazette of India Extraordinary, in force from 1 July 2024. The signed Gazette controls.
Compared with the Indian Evidence Act, 1872
Section 79 replaces Section 80 of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872 (“Presumption as to documents produced as record of evidence”). The wording is substantially the same as the earlier section. The 1872 Act was repealed by section 170 of the Adhiniyam, which saves proceedings pending on 1 July 2024.
Nearby sections
- Section 77 — Proof of other official documents
- Section 78 — Presumption as to genuineness of certified copies
- Section 80 — Presumption as to Gazettes, newspapers, and other documents
- Section 81 — Presumption as to Gazettes in electronic or digital record
Source and review trail
The text above is taken from the Gazette of India publication of the Act. Check later amendments and the signed Gazette before relying on it.
- Official text
- NCRB — Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023, section 79