118Presumption as to certain documents

(1) A letter, return or other document respecting the service of any person in, or the dismissal, removal or discharge of any person from, any unit of the Force, or respecting the circumstances of any person not having served in, or belonged to any unit of the Force, if purporting to be signed by or on behalf of the Central Government or the Director-General, or by any prescribed officer, shall be the evidence of facts stated in such letter, return or other document.

(2) An Assam Rifles list or Gazette purporting to be published by authority shall be evidence of the status and rank of the officers, subordinate officers therein mentioned, and of any appointment held by them and of the battalion, unit or branch of the Force to which they belong.

(3) Where a record is made in any battalion book in pursuance of this Act or of any rules or otherwise in the discharge of official duties, and purporting to be signed by the Commandant or by the officer whose duty it is to make such record, such record shall be evidence of the facts therein stated.

(4) A copy of any record in any battalion book purporting to be certified to be a true copy by the officer having custody of such book shall be evidence of such record.

(5) Where any person subject to this Act is being tried on a charge of desertion or of absence without leave, and such person has surrendered himself into the custody of any officer or other person subject to this Act, or any unit of the Force, or has been apprehended by such officer or person, a certificate purporting to be signed by such officer or by the Commandant of the unit to which such person belongs, as the case may be, and stating the fact, date and place of such surrender or apprehension, and the manner in which he was dressed, shall be the evidence of the matters so stated.

(6) Where any person subject to this Act is being tried on a charge of desertion or of absence without leave and such person has surrendered himself into the custody of, or has been apprehended by, a police officer not below the rank of an officer in charge of a police station, a certificate purporting to be signed by such police officer and stating facts, the date and place of such surrender or apprehension, and the manner in which he was dressed shall be evidence of the matters so stated.

(7) Any document purporting to be the report under the hand of a Government scientific expert, upon any matter or thing duly submitted to him for examination or analysis and report in the course of any proceeding under this Act, may be used as evidence in any inquiry, trial or other proceeding under this Act.

(8) The Assam Rifles Court may, if it thinks fit, summon and examine the expert referred to in subsection (7) as to the subject matter of his report.

(9) Where any such expert is summoned by an Assam Rifles Court and he is unable to attend personally, he may, unless the Court has expressly directed him to appear personally, depute any responsible officer working with him to attend the Court, if such deputed officer is conversant with the facts of the case and satisfactorily depose in the Court on his behalf.

(10) The provisions of sub-sections (7), (8) and (9) shall apply to such Government scientific experts as specified in sub-section (4) of section 293 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (2 of 1974).