When a certified copy of sale deed is registered, an official record is made and maintained by the Registrar's Office in a book; the entry itself becomes a public record of a private document, which qualifies as a public document under Section 74(2) of the Evidence Act. So, is certified copy of sale deed is public document? An original sale deed remains a private document, even when registered, because the original is returned to the executing party and is not retained as a public record.
When one obtains a certified copy of this registered deed by the public authority copying the official record and certifying it. It qualifies as a certified copy of a public document. Courts in India have recognised this.
For example:
The Patna High Court held that such certified copies are admissible as secondary evidence, under Sections 65(e), 65(f), 77 and 79 of the Evidence Act, to prove the contents of the original, though not the execution itself.
Similarly, the Supreme Court in Appaiya vs Andimuthu & Ors. affirmed that certified copies of registered sale deeds are admissible in trials, given the statutory presumption of genuineness accorded under Section 79, and referencing Section 57(5) of the Registration Act.
However, although these certified copies prove the contents, they do not dispense with the need to prove the execution of the original deed itself.
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Is Certified Copy of Sale Deed is Public Document?
shivam
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3 months
2025-08-27T15:29:05+00:00 2025-08-27T15:29:07+00:00Comment
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