Under the Indian Evidence Act, 1872, ‘Public Documents’ include
[amp_mcq option1=”records of sovereign authority, official bodies, tribunals, legislatures, Judiciary of India or the Commonwealth or of a foreign country, and agreements of public bank” option2=”records of sovereign authority, official bodies, tribunals, legislatures, Judiciary of India or the Commonwealth or of a foreign country, and registered agreements” option3=”records of sovereign authority, official bodies, tribunals, legislatures, Judiciary of India or the Commonwealth or of a foreign country, and also public records of private documents” option4=”only records signed by public officers and in custody of a government office” correct=”option3″]
This question was previously asked in
UPSC CISF-AC-EXE – 2019
– Crucially, records of private documents (like registered deeds) maintained in public offices (like Registration departments) are also considered public documents.
– While bank records and agreements might involve a public entity, they are not necessarily public documents in the sense defined by Section 74, unless they form a record of an official act or are registered documents kept in a public record. Option C correctly captures both limbs of the definition.