Registered sale deeds remain private documents; certified copies do not prove execution unless secondary evidence requirements are satisfied.

A registered sale deed remains a private document; only the registration office record in Book 1 is a public document, and a certified copy issued from that record is a certified copy of a public record. A certified copy of the sale deed itself is not admissible as secondary evidence of the original unless the statutory foundation for secondary evidence is first laid. Mere production of the certified copy does not prove execution of the original deed, because registration only shows presentation and copying in the register, not due execution. An order admitting secondary evidence on the assumption that the deed was public was held unsustainable.

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Issues: (i) Whether a duly registered sale deed is a public document and whether a certified copy of such deed issued by the registering officer is itself a public document; (ii) Whether a certified copy of a registered sale deed can be received in evidence without laying the foundation required for secondary evidence; (iii) Whether mere production of a certified copy of a registered sale deed proves execution of the original deed; (iv) Whether the trial court's order allowing the application for secondary evidence was sustainable.

Issue (i): Whether a duly registered sale deed is a public document and whether a certified copy of such deed issued by the registering officer is itself a public document.

Analysis: Documents falling within the category of public documents are those covered by the statutory definition of public documents, including records of public officers and public records kept in a State of private documents. A registered sale deed is returned to the executant after registration and is not itself retained as a public record. By contrast, the register maintained in the registration office, in which the document is copied, entered or filed, is a public record. A certified copy issued from that public record is therefore a certified copy of a public document, but the registered sale deed itself remains a private document.

Conclusion: A registered sale deed is not a public document; the registration office record in Book 1 is a public document, and the certified copy issued from that record is a certified copy of a public document.

Issue (ii): Whether a certified copy of a registered sale deed can be received in evidence without laying the foundation required for secondary evidence.

Analysis: Secondary evidence of a private document can be given only when the conditions for secondary evidence are first satisfied. A certified copy of the registration office record may be admissible as secondary evidence of that public record without further foundation, but a certified copy of the original sale deed cannot be treated as secondary evidence of the private document itself unless one of the statutory grounds for secondary evidence is established. A distinction must therefore be maintained between proving the public record and proving the original sale deed.

Conclusion: A certified copy of a registered sale deed is not admissible as secondary evidence of the original sale deed unless the statutory foundation for secondary evidence is laid.

Issue (iii): Whether mere production of a certified copy of a registered sale deed proves execution of the original deed.

Analysis: Registration proves that a document was presented, admitted for registration and copied in the registration office record; it does not by itself prove due execution by the person shown as executant. Execution of a private document must still be proved in the manner required by law, even where the document or certified copy is otherwise admissible. Mere marking of the certified copy therefore proves at most the contents of the registration record, not the fact of due execution of the sale deed.

Conclusion: Mere production of a certified copy does not prove execution of the original sale deed.

Issue (iv): Whether the trial court's order allowing the application for secondary evidence was sustainable.

Analysis: The trial court proceeded on the erroneous assumption that the original sale deed was a public document and that delay in summoning the original justified admission of the certified copy. The original was admittedly available in the record of the connected appeal, so the proper course was to take steps to secure its production. The order did not rest on a legally sustainable basis. The alleged written admission, if any, was not before the Court and could not justify the order.

Conclusion: The trial court's order was unsustainable and was set aside.

Final Conclusion: A registered sale deed remains a private document, and its certified copy cannot replace primary proof of execution unless the statutory conditions for secondary evidence are satisfied; the matter was remitted for fresh consideration in accordance with law.

Ratio Decidendi: A registered deed is a private document, and a certified copy from the registration record is admissible only as secondary evidence of the public record, not as proof of execution of the original deed unless the statutory foundation for secondary evidence is first established.

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