Whenever a document is produced before any court, purporting to be a record or memorandum of any evidence given in a judicial proceeding or before any officer authorised by law to take evidence, required by law to be reduced to writing, and purporting to be signed by any judge or magistrate, or by any such officer as aforesaid, the court may presume that the document is genuine and that the evidence recorded was the evidence actually given, may take oral evidence of the proceedings and the evidence given; and shall not be precluded from admitting any such document merely by reason of the absence of any formality required by law; provided always that an accused person is not injured as to his or her defence on the merits.