79. The Court shall presume every document purporting to be a certificate, certified copy or other document, which is by law declared to be admissible as evidence of any particular fact and which purports to be duly certified by any officer of the ²[Government] to be genuine:

 

Provided that such document is substantially in the form and purports to be executed in the manner directed by law in that behalf.

The Court shall also presume that any officer by whom any such document purports to be signed or certified, held, when he signed it, the official character which he claims in such paper.

80. 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 authorized 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 the document is genuine; that any statements as to the circumstances under which it was taken, purporting to be made by the person signing it, are true, and that such evidence, statement or confession was duly taken.

81. [Omitted by section 3 and 2nd Schedule of the Bangladesh Laws (Revision And Declaration) Act, 1973 (Act No. VIII of 1973).]

³[81A.  The Court shall presume the genuineness of every digital record purporting to be the Official Gazette, or purporting to be digital record directed by any law to be kept by any person, if such digital record is kept substantially in the form required by law and is produced from proper custody.

Explanation.-Digital records are said to be in proper custody if they are in the place in which, and under the care of the person with whom, they naturally be; but no custody is improper if it is proved to have had a legitimate origin, or the circumstances of the particular case are such as to render such an origin probable.]

82. When any document is produced before any Court, purporting to be a document which, by the law in force for the time being in England and Ireland, would be admissible in proof of any particular in any Court of Justice in England or Ireland, without proof of the seal or stamp or signature authenticating it, or of the judicial or official character claimed by the person by whom it purports to be signed, the Court shall presume that such seal, stamp or signature is genuine, and that the person signing it held, at the time when he signed it, the judicial or official character which he claims, and the document shall be admissible for the same purpose for which it would be admissible in England or Ireland.

83. The Court shall presume that maps or plans purporting to be made by the authority of the Government were so made, and are accurate; but maps or plans made for the purposes of any cause must be proved to be accurate.

84. The Court shall presume the genuineness of ⁴[every book or Gazette] purporting to be printed or published under the authority of the Government of any country, and to contain any of the laws of that country, and of ⁵[every book or Gazette] purporting to contain reports of decisions of the Courts of such country.

85. The Court shall presume that every document purporting to be a power-of-attorney, and to have been executed before, and authenticated by, a notary public, or any Court, Judge, Magistrate, Bangladesh Consul or Vice-Consul, or representative of the Government, was so executed and authenticated.

⁶[85A. The Court shall presume that every digital record purporting to be an agreement containing the digital signatures of the parties was so concluded by affixing the digital signature of the parties.]

 

⁷[85B. (1) In any proceedings involving a secure digital record, the Court shall presume unless contrary is proved, that the secure digital record has not been altered since the point of time to which the secure status relates.

(2) In any proceedings, involving secure digital signature, the Court shall presume unless the contrary is proved that-

(a) the secure digital signature is affixed by subscriber with the intention of signing or approving the digital record;

(b) except in the case of a secure digital record or a secure digital signature, nothing in this section shall create any presumption relating to authenticity and integrity of the digital record or any digital signature.]

⁸[85C. The Court shall presume, unless contrary is proved, that the information listed in a Digital Signature Certificate is correct, except for information specified as subscriber information which has not been verified, if the certificate was accepted by the subscriber.]

86. The Court may presume that any document purporting to be a certified copy of any judicial record of any country not forming part of Bangladesh is genuine and accurate, if the document purports to be certified in any manner which is certified by any representative of the Government in or for such country to be the manner commonly in use in that country for the certification of copies of judicial records.

Second Paragraph.– [Omitted by the Bangladesh Laws (Revision And Declaration) Act, 1973 (Act No. VIII of 1973), section 3 and 2nd Schedule.]

87. The Court may presume that any book to which it may refer for information on matters of public or general interest, and that any published map or chart, the statements of which are relevant facts and which is produced for its inspection, was written and published by the person and at the time and place, by whom or at which it purports to have been written or published.

88. The Court may presume that a message, forwarded from a telegraph office to the person to whom such message purports to be addressed, corresponds with a message delivered for transmission at the office from which the message purports to be sent; but the Court shall not make any presumption as to the person by whom such message was delivered for transmission.

⁹[88A. The Court may presume that a digital communication forwarded by the originator through a digital communication or message server to the addressee to whom the message purports to be addressed corresponds with the message as fed into his computer or fed into other forms of digital device for transmission; but the Court shall not make any presumption as to the persons by whom such message was sent.

Explanation.-For the purposes of this section, the expressions “addressee” and “originator” shall have the same meanings respectively assigned to them in clauses (22) and (24) of section 2 of the Information and Communication Technology Act, 2006 (Act No. 39 of 2006).]

89. The Court shall presume that every document, called for and not produced after notice to produce, was attested, stamped and executed in the manner required by law.

¹⁰[89A. The Court may presume unless contrary is proved that the physical or forensic evidence belongs to or is created by that person from whom it purports to have been collected.]

90. Where any document, purporting or proved to be thirty years old, is produced from any custody which the Court in the particular case considers proper, the Court may presume that the signature and every other part of such document, which purports to be in the handwriting of any particular person, is in that person's handwriting, and, in the case of a document executed or attested, that it was duly executed and attested by the persons by whom it purports to be executed and attested.

Explanation.-Documents are said to be in proper custody if they are in the place in which, and under the care of the person with whom, they would naturally be; 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 such an origin probable.

This explanation applies also to section 81.

Illustrations

(a) A has been in possession of landed property for a long time. He produces from his custody deeds relating to the land, showing his titles to it. The custody is proper.

(b) A produces deeds relating to landed property of which he is the mortgagee. The mortgagor is in possession. The custody is proper.

(c) A, a connection of B, produces deeds relating to lands in B's possession which were deposited with him by B for safe custody. The custody is proper.

¹¹[90A. Where any digital record, purporting or proved to be five years old, is produced from any custody which the Court in the particular case considers proper, the Court may presume that the digital signature which purports to be the digital signature of any particular person was so affixed by him or any person authorized by him in this behalf.

Explanation.- Digital records are said to be in proper custody if they are in the place in which, and under the care of the person with whom, they naturally be; but no custody is improper if it is proved to have had a legitimate origin, or the circumstances of the particular case are such as to render such an origin probable.]