Electronic records are inadmissible in evidence without a Section 65B certificate from the person in charge of the computer — oral evidence is not a substitute.

The Legal Question Before the Court

Electronic records — CCTV footage, call records, SMS transcripts, emails, WhatsApp messages, digital photographs — are central to evidence in modern commercial and criminal litigation. The question was: is a certificate under Section 65B(4) of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872 a mandatory pre-condition for the admissibility of electronic evidence, or may electronic records be proved through oral testimony in the absence of such a certificate?

Earlier decisions — particularly Anvar P.V. v. P.K. Basheer, (2014) 10 SCC 473 — had held the certificate mandatory. A subsequent two-judge bench in Shafhi Mohammad v. State of H.P., (2018) 2 SCC 801 had diluted this requirement, holding that the certificate could be dispensed with in exceptional circumstances. The three-judge bench in Arjun Panditrao Khotkar was convened to resolve this conflict.

The Court's Decision

The court upheld Anvar P.V. and overruled Shafhi Mohammad. The Section 65B(4) certificate is a mandatory statutory condition for the admissibility of electronic records. It cannot be dispensed with, relaxed, or substituted by oral evidence in any circumstances where the electronic record is produced by a party (as opposed to being produced by a court itself through its own technical apparatus).

The certificate must be furnished by the person responsible for the management or operation of the computer from which the electronic record was generated. It must certify: (a) that the computer was in regular use; (b) that information of the kind contained in the record was regularly supplied to the computer; (c) that the computer was operating properly; and (d) that the record was produced by the computer from information supplied to it.

The court clarified that the certificate should accompany the electronic record when it is first produced or filed — though in certain circumstances a direction may be given to the relevant party or authority to produce the certificate.

The Court's Reasoning

The court grounded its decision in the structure of the Indian Evidence Act as it applies to electronic records. Under Section 65B(1), an electronic record is admissible as a document only if the conditions in Section 65B(2) are satisfied. Section 65B(4) requires a certificate certifying that those conditions are met. The original document rule — and the secondary evidence exceptions — were not intended to allow electronic records to be proved by oral evidence without the statutory certification.

The bench noted the practical importance of the certificate: electronic records can easily be manipulated, and the computer-stored data is only as reliable as the system that generated it. The certificate is not merely a formality; it is a safeguard that ensures the court is dealing with authentic data generated by a functioning computer in the normal course of operation.

Practical Implications — What This Means Today

This ruling has significant consequences for litigation preparation in commercial and criminal matters. Any party who intends to produce electronic evidence — CDRs, bank statements in electronic format, WhatsApp conversations, email chains, CCTV footage, electronic contracts, digital payment records — must obtain the Section 65B certificate from the relevant authority before filing the evidence.

Failure to produce the certificate with the electronic record is not a mere procedural lapse: it renders the record inadmissible. In commercial disputes where the primary evidence is electronic, this can be fatal to the case. Practitioners must identify electronic evidence early, determine who manages the computer system that generated it, and obtain the certificate at the outset of litigation — or, where necessary, seek a court direction under Section 65B(4) for the custodian to provide it.

Relevant Statutory Provisions

  • Section 65B, Indian Evidence Act, 1872 — Admissibility of electronic records — certificate requirement
  • Section 65A, Indian Evidence Act, 1872 — Special provisions as to evidence relating to electronic records
  • Section 3, Indian Evidence Act, 1872 — "Document" includes electronic records
  • Information Technology Act, 2000 — Definition of "electronic record" and related provisions

Analysis by Vinode V. Luka, Advocate | Published: May 2026 | Last reviewed: May 2026