Lost Document Affidavit in Vadodara | ગુમ થયેલ દસ્તાવેજ

Lost Document Affidavit — for a duplicate, and what must go with it

ગુમ થયેલ દસ્તાવેજ અંગેનું સોગંદનામું

A sworn statement that a specific document has been lost, how and when, and that it has not been pledged, sold or handed to anybody. It is what an issuing authority wants before it issues a duplicate.

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What the issuing authority is actually worried about

When you ask for a duplicate, the authority is not worried about your honesty in the abstract. It is worried about two specific risks: that the original is not lost at all but is in somebody else's hands as security, and that it will issue a duplicate and then face a claim from whoever holds the original. Everything in a well-drafted lost document affidavit is aimed at those two risks.

So the affidavit states the document precisely, states the circumstances of the loss, states that a search was made and it could not be found, and — the operative part — states that the document has not been sold, pledged, deposited, assigned or otherwise made over to any person, and that no other person has any claim on it. Where the authority also asks for an indemnity, that undertaking to make good any loss goes with it.

Identify the document by its number. Always.

"My insurance policy is lost" is useless. "Policy number 000/1234567 issued on 14 March 2009 for a sum assured of ..." is a document the office can find on its own system. Marksheets need the seat number, roll number, board and year of passing. An RC book needs the registration number and chassis number. A property paper needs the document number, year and Sub-Registrar office. This single point accounts for most returned applications.

Do you need a police complaint too?

It depends on what was lost and who is issuing the duplicate. As a working rule, the more the document can be misused by whoever finds it, the more likely it is that a police complaint or a non-traceable report will be required alongside the affidavit. Cheque books, passports, RC books and driving licences, share certificates, original property documents — expect to be asked. A school marksheet or a degree certificate — often not.

Lodge the complaint first if you are going to need it, because the affidavit should refer to the complaint by its number and date. Retro-fitting a complaint afterwards means redrafting.

Different documents, different routes

Marksheet or certificate — application to the board or university, with the affidavit and usually a fee; some ask for a newspaper notice.
Insurance policy bond — affidavit plus the insurer's own indemnity form; the insurer will have a printed format, so collect it first.
Share certificate — a heavier procedure with its own requirements. See the lost share certificate page.
RC book, driving licence, insurance certificate — RTO forms, generally with a police report.
Original property document — the hardest of all, because a lost original title deed is a serious matter for any future buyer or lender. Police complaint, newspaper notice, affidavit and a certified copy of the registered document from the Sub-Registrar's record. Do not treat this as a counter formality.

What gets these rejected

The document not identified by number, date and issuing office.
"Lost somewhere" — no date, no place, no account of how.
Silence on whether the document was pledged or deposited. That is the clause the authority reads first.
A deponent who is not the person entitled to the document — a son swearing about his father's policy while the father is alive and available.
A police complaint referred to but not produced, or produced with a different description of the document.
An affidavit saying the document is "destroyed" when the deponent does not know that. If you do not know, say it is untraceable.

An affidavit does not extinguish anyone else's rights.

If a third party genuinely holds your original — a lender holding a title deed, a person holding an endorsed instrument — swearing that it is lost does not defeat their claim, and it exposes you both to the indemnity you signed and to worse. Where you are unsure whether a document was deposited somewhere, find out before you swear.

Stamp, fee and language

Stamp duty as currently prescribed under the Gujarat Stamp Act, 1958, confirmed at the counter and e-stamped here. The notarial fee for taking an affidavit is capped at ₹35 under Rule 10(1) of the Notaries Rules, 1956. If the issuing office wants an attested true copy of some other document alongside, a notarial true copy is ₹10 per page subject to a minimum of ₹20 — see the charges page.

What to bring

Any photocopy, scan or photograph of the lost document, however poor
The number of the lost document, and the issuing office and date if known
Police complaint or non-traceable report, where one has been lodged
Aadhaar and PAN card of the deponent
The issuing authority's own duplicate-issue form or indemnity format, if they gave you one
Proof that you are the person entitled to the document — passbook, premium receipt, admission record

Lost Share Certificate Affidavit — for a duplicate from the company or RTA

Signature Difference Affidavit — when the bank says the signature does not matchસહી ફેરફાર સોગંદનામું

One and the Same Person Affidavit — two spellings, one personએક જ વ્યક્તિ હોવા બાબતનું સોગંદનામું

Widow Affidavit — for pension, bank claims and heirshipવિધવા હોવા અંગેનું સોગંદનામું

Common questions

Do I need to file a police complaint first?

It depends on the document. Anything that can be misused by a finder — cheque book, RC book, passport, share certificate, original property deed — will usually need a complaint or a non-traceable report, and the affidavit should quote its number and date. A lost marksheet often does not. Lodge it before the affidavit is drafted rather than after.

What if I find the original later?

Tell the issuing authority immediately and surrender or destroy whichever copy they direct. Most duplicates are issued on an indemnity, and quietly keeping both an original and a duplicate in circulation is precisely the risk the indemnity was taken against. It also makes your earlier affidavit look false, which is the worse problem.

Can somebody else swear it for me?

Only if they are the person properly entitled to the document or its lawful holder — an executor, a guardian for a minor, a partner for a firm's paper. A relative swearing about a document belonging to a living, available person is a standard rejection, because the deponent has no personal knowledge of the loss and no entitlement to the duplicate.