Certified Copies under Section 75 of BSA

Dear client,

Section 75 of the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023 (corresponding to Section 76 of the old Indian Evidence Act) does not create an independent right to obtain certified copies of every public document. It only provides that where a person has a right to inspect a public document, the public officer having custody of that document shall, on demand and on payment of the prescribed fee, furnish a certified copy.

Therefore, the department's stand that certified copies can be issued only if there is a pending court case is not supported by Section 75 itself. The existence of a court case is not a condition under the provision. The real question is whether you have a legal right to inspect the document under the applicable law or departmental rules.

As regards judgments, there is no general Supreme Court or Patna High Court decision holding that Section 75/BSA (or the earlier Section 76 of the Evidence Act) entitles every person to certified copies irrespective of the governing statute. Courts have consistently treated the provision as an evidentiary provision, not a standalone mechanism for obtaining documents.

If the document is a public record maintained by a government department, the more effective remedy is often to:

seek the document under the Right to Information Act, 2005, if it is not exempt; or
rely on the statutory rules governing certified copies maintained by that department.

If your request has been rejected solely on the ground that there is no pending court case, you may challenge the rejection by pointing out that Section 75 contains no such requirement and asking the authority to identify the specific statutory rule or notification under which it insists upon a pending judicial proceeding. If no such rule exists, the rejection may be arbitrary..