Section 81 of BSA : Section 81: Presumption as to Gazettes in electronic or digital record.

Explanation using Example

Example 1:

Scenario: A company is involved in a legal dispute over a government notification regarding environmental regulations.

Application of Section 81: The company presents an electronic copy of the Official Gazette, which contains the notification about the new environmental regulations. The court will presume that this electronic record is genuine because it is an official document that is supposed to be kept in electronic form by law. The company obtained this record from the official government website, which is considered proper custody.

Outcome: The court accepts the electronic copy of the Official Gazette as genuine evidence without requiring further proof of its authenticity.

Example 2:

Scenario: An individual is contesting a traffic fine issued based on a digital record of traffic violations maintained by the traffic police department.

Application of Section 81: The traffic police department presents a digital record showing the individual's traffic violations, which is maintained as per the legal requirements. The record is produced from the department's official database, which is the proper custody for such records.

Outcome: The court presumes the digital record to be genuine and accepts it as valid evidence of the individual's traffic violations, unless the individual can provide evidence to the contrary.

Example 3:

Scenario: A journalist is accused of defamation for publishing an article based on a digital record of a public speech made by a government official.

Application of Section 81: The journalist presents a digital recording of the speech, which is stored on the official government website. The court will presume the digital recording to be genuine because it is an official record kept in the required form and produced from proper custody.

Outcome: The court accepts the digital recording as genuine evidence, supporting the journalist's defense that the article was based on an accurate representation of the official's speech.

Example 4:

Scenario: A property dispute arises, and one party presents an electronic land registry record to prove ownership.

Application of Section 81: The party presents an electronic record from the official land registry database, which is maintained as per legal requirements. The record is produced from the official land registry office, which is the proper custody for such records.

Outcome: The court presumes the electronic land registry record to be genuine and accepts it as valid evidence of property ownership, unless the opposing party can provide evidence to challenge its authenticity.