Question

Which of the following is not a document as per the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023?

• A. Private papers
• B. Caricature
• C. Map
• D. Inscription

Hint:

For evidence law examinations, think of a document as something created to record or communicate information. Artistic works are usually distinguished from documentary records.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is B

The evidentiary tradition this Act belongs to has long given illustrative examples of what counts as a document, and comparing those illustrations to the four options here also settles the question.

1. Illustrations traditionally treated as documents: Writings, maps, plans, inscriptions, and similar items bearing letters, figures, or marks intended to record information have long been treated as documents in Indian evidence law, because each of them exists to preserve or communicate some piece of information.
2. Private papers against this list: Private papers are simply a form of writing, and writings sit squarely within this traditional list of documents.
3. Map against this list: A map is one of the illustrations expressly associated with the concept of a document, since it conveys spatial information through marks and symbols.
4. Inscription against this list: An inscription is likewise one of the traditional illustrations, being a recording of information by means of engraved or written marks.
5. Caricature against this list: A caricature has never featured among the traditional illustrations of a document, precisely because its function is artistic exaggeration or satire rather than the recording of information; it is closer to an artwork than to a writing, map, plan, or inscription.

Since three of the options match the long-recognised illustrations of what constitutes a document, and the caricature does not fit that category at all, the item that is not a document is the caricature.

Answer 2

Another workable test is to ask what the creator of each item actually intended it to do, since the statutory concept of a document turns on an intention to express, describe, or record something meant to be understood as information.

1. Private papers: Someone writing private papers intends to set down facts, thoughts, or records for later reference or communication, which is exactly the kind of intention the document definition requires.
2. Map: Someone drawing a map intends viewers to understand real spatial relationships, distances, or locations, again matching the intention to convey factual information.
3. Inscription: Someone creating an inscription intends the engraved or written words to be read and understood as a record of something, whether a name, a date, or an event, which again fits the intention behind a document.
4. Caricature: Someone drawing a caricature typically intends to amuse, exaggerate, or satirise, rather than to create a factual record meant to convey verifiable information; the intention behind a caricature is expressive, not documentary.

Applying the intention test consistently across all four items, three are created with an intention to record or convey information, while the caricature is created with an artistic or satirical intention instead.

That is why the caricature is the item that is not a document under the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023.