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Indian evidence law | Updated 20 October 2026

Section 90 Evidence Act: Presumption as to Documents Thirty Years Old

Section 90 of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872 allowed courts to presume the authenticity of handwriting and due execution or attestation of documents at least thirty years old when produced from proper custody. The corresponding current rule is Section 92 of the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023 (BSA).

Current law: The BSA took effect on 1 July 2024. For proceedings to which the BSA applies, consult Section 92. The BSA's repeal and savings provision should be considered for proceedings pending when the new law commenced.

Section 92 of Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023

Section 92 is headed Presumption as to documents thirty years old. It states that when a document appearing or proved to be thirty years old is produced from custody considered proper by the court, the court may presume that its purported signatures and handwriting are genuine and, where applicable, that it was duly executed and attested by the persons shown as having done so.

Its explanation adopts the definition of proper custody found in Section 80 of the BSA. The provision also retains three illustrations concerning land deeds held by an owner, a mortgagee, or a person entrusted with safekeeping.

Read the complete enacted law in the official India Code PDF of the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023.

Former Section 90 of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872

Presumption as to documents thirty years old: 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.

The former section also explained that documents are in proper custody when held in the place and by the person with whom they would naturally be. Custody is not improper merely because it differs from the ordinary arrangement, provided a legitimate origin is proved or reasonably probable. Under the former Act, that explanation also applied to Section 81; under the BSA, Section 92 refers to the explanation in Section 80.

Conditions for applying the presumption

  1. Age: The document must appear or be proved to be at least thirty years old. A document younger than thirty years does not qualify merely because it is old.
  2. Production before the court: The document must be produced for inspection; the rule is not a blanket presumption for every historical document mentioned in a pleading.
  3. Proper custody: The court must be satisfied that the source of production is natural, legitimate, or otherwise sufficiently explained.
  4. Judicial discretion: The words may presume permit, but do not compel, the court to draw the inference. Suspicious circumstances can justify refusing it.

What does the court presume?

The presumption concerns the genuineness of purported handwriting or signatures and, for a document shown as executed or attested, the regularity of that execution or attestation. It does not by itself prove the truth of every recital, ownership of property, the validity of a transaction, or the absence of fraud. Other legal requirements for admissibility and proof may still apply.

Particular caution is necessary for documents such as wills, which may be subject to specific statutory requirements for proving execution and attestation. Age alone should not be treated as a substitute for those requirements.

Proper custody: statutory illustrations

  • Landowner: A person long in possession of land produces deeds relating to that land from their own custody. The custody is proper.
  • Mortgagee: A mortgagee produces deeds relating to mortgaged land, although the mortgagor remains in possession. The custody is proper.
  • Safekeeping: A relative or associate produces land deeds deposited with them by the person possessing the land for safekeeping. The custody is proper.

These examples illustrate that proper custody is not limited to physical possession by the property's owner. The reason the document was kept by that person matters.

Practical example

Suppose a 1988 registered conveyance is produced in 2026 from the records maintained by a family that has held the property for decades. If the court accepts the document's age and custody, it may presume that the purported signatures and execution are genuine. An opposing party may still challenge the document on legally relevant grounds, and the court must assess the surrounding evidence.

Former Section 89 - Documents not produced after notice deals with a distinct mandatory presumption, now addressed in BSA Section 91. Former Section 83 - Government maps and plans addresses a different category of documentary presumptions. BSA Section 93 separately concerns certain electronic records five years old; it should not be confused with the thirty-year rule for documents.

Official legislation

Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023 - official enacted text (Sections 80, 92 and 93)

India Code - central legislation database

This article provides general legal information; application of presumptions depends on the facts and procedural law governing the proceeding.