Section 62

As more evidence became digital—emails, computer files, CCTV recordings, phone data—courts needed a clear, reliable way to check that such records were genuine and hadn't been tampered with. Earlier Indian evidence law (under the Indian Evidence Act, 1872, as amended in 2000 to include Section 65B) created a special procedure for this. The Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023 continues that approach, using Section 62 as a short pointer provision that sends anyone dealing with electronic evidence to the detailed procedural rules in Section 63 (the modern equivalent of the old Section 65B).

This is a new provision under the 2023 Act, so there is no direct case law interpreting Section 62 itself yet. However, courts have extensively interpreted the predecessor provision, Section 65B of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872, particularly in Anvar P.V. v. P.K. Basheer (2014) and Arjun Panditrao Khotkar v. Kailash Kushanrao Gorantyal (2020), both of which held that a certificate is generally mandatory for admitting electronic records as secondary evidence, with narrow exceptions. Courts are likely to apply similar reasoning when interpreting Section 63 of the new Act, since Section 62 simply directs parties to that provision.

• Myth: You can just print out an email or text message and hand it to the court as proof.
  Fact: Courts usually require a specific certification process (under Section 63) to confirm the electronic record is authentic before it can be used as evidence.
• Myth: Section 62 itself lists the detailed rules for electronic evidence.
  Fact: Section 62 only points to Section 63, which contains the actual detailed procedure for proving electronic records.