Legal Status Of Social Media Evidence In India: Authenticity, Reliability, And The Adequacy Of The Existing Legal Framework
- IJLLR Journal
- May 7
- 1 min read
Aakarsh Chauhan, LLB (Hons.), Amity University
ABSTRACT
The emergence of social media sites has changed the landscape of Indian courts regarding the use of evidence. The most common types of evidence that you will now find in criminal, civil, matrimonial, commercial, and constitutional litigation are posts on Facebook, messages on WhatsApp, photographs on Instagram, communications on Twitter, videos on YouTube and exchanges on LinkedIn.
Nevertheless, in India, the framework of law governing the admissibility of evidence from social media platforms is fragmented, judicially unsettled, and patently inadequate to address the specific challenges of authenticity and reliability posed by it. The mutability of social media evidence, along with its ease of fabrication, accessibility, storage, and mediation, makes it different from traditional documentary evidence. These features complicate the authentication and verification of reliability processes which are conditions precedent to admissibility.
The present paper engaged in critical analysis of social media evidence’ legal status in India, mainly on the point of authenticity and reliability. It analyzes the existing legislative framework under the Indian Evidence Act, 1872, the Information Technology Act, 2000, and the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023, and reviews landmark judicial pronouncements on the admissibility of social media evidence. It also identifies the major authenticity and reliability challenges and evaluates how far the existing legal framework can ensure that only authentic and reliable social media evidence impacts judicial outcomes. The conclusion deals with some reform recommendations for strengthening the legal framework of social media evidence in India.
Keywords: Social Media Evidence, Legal Status, Authenticity, Reliability, Section 65B, Indian Evidence Act, Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, Digital Forensics, WhatsApp Evidence, Admissibility.
