Source: https://www.studybix.com/modes-prove-public-private-documents/
Timestamp: 2019-04-23 23:03:17+00:00

Document:
Lord Blackburn defined a public document as “a document that is made for the purpose of public making use of it and being able to refer it. It is meant to be where there is judicial or quasi judicial duty to inquire.
Art. 85 Qanun-e-Shahadat Order without defining the term public document declares the following to be public documents.
Of public officers, legislative, judicial and executive, of any part of Pakistan, or of a foreign country.
Certificates deposited in a repository pursuant to the provisions of the Electronic Transaction Ordinance, 2002.
All other documents which do not fall within the domain specified above are private documents.
Public documents consists of “the acts of public functionaries, in the Executive, Legislative and Judicial Departments of Government, including under the General head the transactions which the official persons are required to enter in books or registers in the course of their public duty and which occur within the circle of their own personal knowledge and observation. To the same head may be referred the consideration of documentary evidence of the acts of state, the laws and judgments of courts of foreign Government.
Term records” means collection of documents. Where according to the official practice a book (or file of papers) is maintained containing the copies of the communications sent, the book of copies thus maintained is itself an official register within the meaning of Art. 49 and public document within the meaning of Art. 85.
Under this head comes, Acts of Parliaments, Judgment and acts of Courts both of voluntary and contentious jurisdiction, proclamations, public record and the like.
Certified copies produced in a case form part of record of judicial proceedings and are public documents as mentioned in Art. 85 thus admissible in evidence.
A document cannot be said to be a public document within the meaning of Art. 85 unless it has been shown to have been prepared by public servant in discharge of his official duties. The mere fact that it is kept in a public office does not lead to an inference that it is a public document.
Copies of private documents of which a record is kept by a public officer falls within the purview of Sub section 2 of Art 85, and, as such, can be produced under Article 88 in proof of their contents.
Registered document is a public document and presumption of truth is attached to it, but once controverted person taking benefit out of the same has to prove its contents, specially the value of property mentioned by independent evidence as presumption of truth to a public document, would not mean that contents of document in question are unquestionably true.
Article 86 provides that “all other documents are private documents”.
All other documents besides those mentioned in Article 85 are private documents. Private writings may be of various kinds, e.g contracts—unilateral or bilateral, memorandum, power of attorney, letter, any deed.
Certified copy of a public document is admissible in evidence without further proof. The contents of a public document may be proved by producing a certified copy of it. The original need not to be proved. 1988 CLC 2411.
Article 89 of QSO prescribes special modes of proving the contents of various kinds of official document The mode of proof of public document in this Article is only permissive, and other modes of proof are not shut out.
By any document purporting to be printed by order of any such Government.
By the journal of those bodies respectively or by published Acts or abstracts or by copies purporting to be printed by order of the Government concerned.
By certified copy under the seal of the country or sovereign.
By a recognition thereof in some Federal Act.
Legitimate way of proving proceedings of municipal body is by a copy of such proceeding, certified by a legal keeper thereof or by a printed book purporting to be published by the authority of such body.
Foreign documents can be proved by the original or by a certified copy thereof, which must be certified by the legal keeper of document with a certificate under the seal of a notary public.

References: Art. 85
 Art. 49
 Art. 85
 Art. 85
 Art. 85
 Art 85