Digital Evidence In Indian Criminal Law: Admissibility And Authenticity Under The BSA, 2023
- IJLLR Journal
- 7 days ago
- 1 min read
Shashank Mohan Gupta & Dr. Astitwa Bhargava
ABSTRACT
India’s evidentiary framework has undergone a paradigm shift as digital life dominates social, financial, and criminal spheres. The Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam (BSA), 2023, replaces the 150-year-old Indian Evidence Act (IEA), 1872, to reflect this transformation. Electronic records, once treated as secondary evidence, now lie at the core of justice delivery. This paper focuses on the pivotal reform in proving digital authenticity under the BSA, tracing the evolution from the rigid certification regime of Section 65B of the IEA to the simplified approach under Section 63(4) of the BSA. The new provision recognizes electronic records as primary evidence-a landmark departure that resolves long-standing judicial ambiguities. Landmark Supreme Court rulings, including Anvar P.V. v. P.K. Basheer and Arjun Panditrao Khotkar v. Kailash Kushanrao Gorantyal, shaped this debate, and the BSA now attempts to settle it decisively. Yet, challenges persist in ensuring forensic reliability, authentication consistency, and uniform procedural application across courts. Achieving a robust digital justice framework demands standardized forensic protocols, judicial capacity building, and seamless integration between the BSA, the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), and the Information Technology Act, 2000- ensuring that law and technology evolve in tandem toward a transparent, fair, and future-ready justice system.
Keywords: Digital Evidence – Admissibility – Authentication – Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam 2023 – Cyber Crime – Forensic Protocols
