Judicial Admissibility Of Digital Evidence: Legal Developments And Forensic Constraints
- IJLLR Journal
- Jul 6
- 2 min read
Ms. Muskan, Research Scholar, Amity Law School, Amity University, Haryana.
Dr. Vidushi Puri, Assistant Professor, Amity Law School, Amity University, Haryana
ABSTRACT
The fast process of digitization of the modern society has fundamentally altered the particulars of crime and served to alter the grounds of evidence on the bases of modern laws as well. This development has led to the emergence of the specialized field of digital forensics which has become essential in the adjudication of crimes that occur in the virtual world. Digital forensic labs have increasingly performed a thorough study of electronically stored data, which currently helps in identification, preservation, analysis, and presentation of digital proof in court. Physical artifacts are replaced with more complicated digital traces, including digital records, data on mobile devices, cloud-based records, and other categories of data that is generated electronically. Courts are now including the use of digital evidence as substantive and corroborative evidence, but its weight of evidence is commonly watered down by lack of uniform legal standards and standardized forensic practices. The alignment of forensic processes, detecting the presence of cross-national investigations via clouds, etc. only adds to issues in due-process. Submissions of expert and their credibility also stand at end point at times. Legally, developments are needed on crucial issues such as the reliability, authenticity, integrity and admissibility of digital evidence when it comes to making factual decisions. There is an utter need to induct more experts in the labs, train the existing ones and adopt the new laws with full force. The article in its complete essence addresses these issues with the solutions proposed, which if implemented may help in curbing the menace of cyber crime and issues in its admissibility.
Keywords: Court, Digital Forensics, Electronic Evidence, Experts & Law.
