The Supreme Court in R. Veronica v. 2026 INSC 703 clarified that Section 68 of the Indian Evidence Act, which mandates proof through an attesting witness, does not apply to registered sale deeds. Registration under the Registration Act itself authenticates the document. A party challenging such a deed cannot demand attesting-witness examination as a precondition to admissibility. The ruling draws a sharp distinction between documents requiring attestation by law and those where registration serves as the authenticating mechanism.

Section 68 of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872 states that a document required by law to be attested cannot be used as evidence until at least one attesting witness has been called to prove it. This provision applies classically to Wills (which must be attested under Section 63 of the Indian Succession Act) and certain mortgage deeds under the Transfer of Property Act.

The critical distinction the Supreme Court draws in this ruling is between documents that are legally required to be attested and documents that are merely required to be registered. A registered sale deed falls in the second category. The Registration Act, 1908 mandates registration for sale deeds involving immovable property (Section 17), but registration is not the same as attestation. The Sub-Registrar's endorsement confirms execution and identity, effectively substituting for independent testimonial proof of execution.

Therefore, once a sale deed is registered, it is presumed to have been executed by the person who appears to have executed it. The party seeking to rely on it need not produce an attesting witness under Section 68. The adversarial party can still challenge authenticity, but cannot defeat the document solely by demanding attesting-witness examination.

For CLAT PG, the examiner will typically present a passage where Section 68 is quoted and then ask whether it applies to a registered gift deed, mortgage, or sale deed — testing whether the aspirant knows the attestation requirement is document-specific, not universal.