Published on: November 10, 2023 at 12:00 IST
Court: High Court of Kerala
Citation: Saritha S Nair V. Union of India (2022)
Honourable High Court of Kerala has held that there is a distinction between the record of the court and the record of the acts of the court. It is held that only the record of the acts of the court that is a public document. Thus, deposition of witnesses recorded by a judge/an officer of the court, judgment, and decree are public documents as they are records of acts of court, however pleadings, affidavits, and petitions as filed in court are not public documents.
9. Documents which are records of acts of public officers, legislative, judicial, and executive are public documents going by Section 74(1)(iii). ‘Public Officer” has been defined under Section 2(17) of the Code of Civil Procedure which includes every judge and every officer of a court of justice. To be a public document, it should be a record of the act of the court.
The record itself would not be a public document. There is a distinction between the record of the court and the record of the acts of the court. It is only the record of the acts of the court that is a public document. Thus, deposition of witnesses recorded by a judge/an officer of the court, judgment, and decree are public documents as they are records of acts of court. But pleadings, affidavits, and petitions filed in court, cannot be said to form such acts or records of acts, and are, therefore, not public documents.
Drafted By Abhijit Mishra
