Section 80
Presumption as to Gazettes, newspapers, and other documents
Reviewed by Ravi Sisodia · Last reviewed 10 October 2026
Official text of section 80 of the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023 (Chapter V: Of documentary evidence), with the matching section of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872.
Section 80, official text
The Court shall presume the genuineness of every document purporting to be the Official Gazette, or to be a newspaper or journal, and of every document purporting to be a document directed by any law to be kept by any person, if such document is kept substantially in the form required by law and is produced from proper custody.
Explanation.—For the purposes of this section and section 92, document is said to be in proper custody if it is in the place in which, and looked after by the person with whom such document is required to be kept; but no custody is improper if it is proved to have had a legitimate origin, or if the circumstances of the particular case are such as to render that origin probable.
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 80 replaces Section 81 of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872 (“Presumption as to Gazettes, newspapers, private Acts of Parliament and other documents”). The provision has been reworded or extended compared with the earlier section; read the two texts side by side. The 1872 Act was repealed by section 170 of the Adhiniyam, which saves proceedings pending on 1 July 2024.
Nearby sections
- Section 78 — Presumption as to genuineness of certified copies
- Section 79 — Presumption as to documents produced as record of evidence, etc
- Section 81 — Presumption as to Gazettes in electronic or digital record
- Section 82 — Presumption as to maps or plans made by authority of Government
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 80