Electronic Evidence under the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023

Section 2. Definitions

(1) In this Adhiniyam, unless the context otherwise requires,—

(a) “Court” includes all Judges and Magistrates, and all persons, except arbitrators, legally

authorised to take evidence;

(b) “conclusive proof” means when one fact is declared by this Adhiniyam to be conclusive proof

of another, the Court shall, on proof of the one fact, regard the other as proved, and shall not allow

evidence to be given for the purpose of disproving it;

(c) “disproved” in relation to a fact, means when, after considering the matters before it, the

Court either believes that it does not exist, or considers its non-existence so probable that a prudent

man ought, under the circumstances of the particular case, to act upon the supposition that it does not

exist;

(d) “document” means any matter expressed or described or otherwise recorded upon any

substance by means of letters, figures or marks or any other means or by more than one of those

means, intended to be used, or which may be used, for the purpose of recording that matter and

includes electronic and digital records.

Illustrations.

(i) A writing is a document.

(ii) Words printed, lithographed or photographed are documents.

(iii) A map or plan is a document.

(iv) An inscription on a metal plate or stone is a document.

(v) A caricature is a document.

(vi) An electronic record on emails, server logs, documents on computers, laptop or smartphone,

messages, websites, locational evidence and voice mail messages stored on digital devices are documents.

Section 61. Electronic or digital record.

Nothing in this Adhiniyam shall apply to deny the

admissibility of an electronic or digital record in the evidence on the ground that it is an electronic or

digital record and such record shall, subject to section 63, have the same legal effect, validity and

enforceability as other document.

62. Special provisions as to evidence relating to electronic record.—The contents of

electronic records may be proved in accordance with the provisions of section 63. 30

63. Admissibility of electronic records.—(1) Notwithstanding anything contained in this

Adhiniyam, any information contained in an electronic record which is printed on paper, stored, recorded

or copied in optical or magnetic media or semiconductor memory which is produced by a computer or

any communication device or otherwise stored, recorded or copied in any electronic form (hereinafter

referred to as the computer output) shall be deemed to be also a document, if the conditions mentioned in

this section are satisfied in relation to the information and computer in question and shall be admissible in

any proceedings, without further proof or production of the original, as evidence or any contents of the

original or of any fact stated therein of which direct evidence would be admissible.

(2) The conditions referred to in sub-section (1) in respect of a computer output shall be the

following, namely:—

(a) the computer output containing the information was produced by the computer or

communication device during the period over which the computer or Communication device was

used regularly to create, store or process information for the purposes of any activity regularly carried

on over that period by the person having lawful control over the use of the computer or

communication device;

(b) during the said period, information of the kind contained in the electronic record or of the

kind from which the information so contained is derived was regularly fed into the computer or

Communication device in the ordinary course of the said activities;

(c) throughout the material part of the said period, the computer or communication device was

operating properly or, if not, then in respect of any period in which it was not operating properly or

was out of operation during that part of the period, was not such as to affect the electronic record or

the accuracy of its contents; and

(d) the information contained in the electronic record reproduces or is derived from such

information fed into the computer or Communication device in the ordinary course of the said

activities.

(3) Where over any period, the function of creating, storing or processing information for the

purposes of any activity regularly carried on over that period as mentioned in clause (a) of sub-section (2)

was regularly performed by means of one or more computers or communication device, whether—

(a) in standalone mode; or

(b) on a computer system; or

(c) on a computer network; or

(d) on a computer resource enabling information creation or providing information processing

and storage; or

(e) through an intermediary,

all the computers or communication devices used for that purpose during that period shall be treated for

the purposes of this section as constituting a single computer or communication device; and references in

this section to a computer or communication device shall be construed accordingly.

(4) In any proceeding where it is desired to give a statement in evidence by virtue of this section, a

certificate doing any of the following things shall be submitted along with the electronic record at each

instance where it is being submitted for admission, namely:—

(a) identifying the electronic record containing the statement and describing the manner in which

it was produced;

(b) giving such particulars of any device involved in the production of that electronic record as

may be appropriate for the purpose of showing that the electronic record was produced by a computer

or a communication device referred to in clauses (a) to (e) of sub-section (3);

(c) dealing with any of the matters to which the conditions mentioned in sub-section (2) relate,

39. Opinions of experts.

(1) When the Court has to form an opinion upon a point of foreign law or

of science or art, or any other field, or as to identity of handwriting or finger impressions, the opinions

upon that point of persons specially skilled in such foreign law, science or art, or any other field, or in

questions as to identity of handwriting or finger impressions are relevant facts and such persons are called exparts 

66. Proof as to electronic signature

Except in the case of a secure electronic signature, if the

electronic signature of any subscriber is alleged to have been affixed to an electronic record, the fact that

such electronic signature is the electronic signature of the subscriber must be proved.

86. Presumption as to electronic records and electronic signatures

The Court shall presume that every document

purporting to be a power-of-attorney, and to have been executed before, and authenticated by, a Notary

Public, or any Court, Judge, Magistrate, Indian Consul or Vice-Consul, or representative of the Central

Government, was so executed and authenticated.

87. Presumption as to Electronic Signature Certificates.—

The Court shall presume, unless

contrary is proved, that the information listed in an Electronic Signature Certificate is correct, except for

information specified as subscriber information which has not been verified, if the certificate was

accepted by the subscriber.

Shalu kushwaha 

Class :5th semester 

Manu law college nichalaul