Significance of Electronic Evidence

Evidence forms core of the investigation made during a crime, and electronic evidence is one of those evidences, which at times becomes decisive for concluding a flawless result, albeit it is not viable to get an impeccable result very often. The course of collecting evidence usually starts right from the starting of the investigation and continues until the result is found. And, while pursing this, investigators may come across some electronic evidences and their fundamental role in the investigation. In such circumstances, it becomes indispensible to produce such evidences in front of the court of law so that justice may be delivered, taking into account all the relevant evidence. But, it also becomes necessary to produce only such evidences which are pertinent to the case, and this would depend on the facts and circumstances of each case. There has been a hasty increase in the usage of electronic devices in the last one decade, and crime has also transformed itself by inventing new ways through which crime can be executed. On the face of it, sometimes it appears that crimes have been committed by using electronic devices as their primary source. There has been a rampant increase in the usage of mobile devices, laptops, and above all these the usage of internet with any of these electronic devices as a medium. Even if a person plans to conspire against another person, he may utilise his laptop for the organisation of plan, and other particulars relevant for the purpose of his plan e.g. video and audio files. Seeing all this, it has become a mandate which is needed to be followed i.e. to use all these materials sources in the investigation.

Section 3 of Indian Evidence Act defines Evidence as the documents which are being submitted in the court of Law. These evidences are basically known as “digital evidence”, and electronic devices come under this classification. This was fashioned in a thriving manner after the enactment of Information Technology Act, 2000 which led to the amendment of Section 3 of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872. Thus, it transformed the definition of the term “evidence”, as defined under Evidence Act, as “all documents including electronic records produced for the inspection of the Court shall be substituted”. What can be admissible after the enactment of this act in the form of electronic records has been defined under Section 65B of Information Technology Act. It would be easier to understand this through the exact wording of what has been mentioned under the act considering the fragile nature of the legal interpretation.

“any information contained in an electronic record which is printed on a paper, stored, recorded or copied in optical or magnetic media produced by a computer (hereinafter referred to as the computer output) shall be deemed to be also a document, if the conditions mentioned in this section are satisfied in relation to the information and computer in question and shall be admissible in any proceedings”

It is evident from the wordings of this section that it is not mandatory to produce the electronic device, computer to be more specific, in front of the court as evidence. It can rather be any entity which can exhibit what has been stored in that device e.g. documents in its printed form.

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Since the advent of the usage of Forensic technology to analyse evidence, it has become easier for the investigating agencies grasping the culprit without any flaw. CCTV footages is another breed of digital evidence rampantly used in the investigation be it Mumbai Attacks, or it be lathi charge at the camp where Baba Ramdev was fasting for his cause. And, courts are also admitting these evidences in the trails so as to deliver the justified verdict. There appear some other instances which in a way become necessary to be taken into account when discussing the issue pertaining to digital evidence. Call records generally become vital to the investigation of a case; it can be spotted from the recent 2-G spectrum trial and also from the issue related to Amar Singh and Bipasha Basu. Call records are admissible in the court of law and they are considered to be authentic. This was held in State(N.C.T. of Delhi) v Navjot Sandhu AIR 2005 SC 3820; AIR SCW 4148 , where the court opined that the call records relating to cellular phones are admissible and reliable. But, this admissibility is subjected to its relevance to the case, and any evidence which would not help parties substantiating their claim would be insignificant and it would be absurd to introduce such evidences in front of the court of law.

There arise certain circumstances when a person is not able to represent himself physically in front of the court, and it would be interesting to know that it is not mandatory for a person to present himself physically in front of the court, he can a witness, accused, victim or anyone whose presence becomes a mandate to decide a case. In such a situation, he can represent himself in front of the court through “Video Conferencing”. This can be gathered from the verdict pronounced by the Supreme Court in State of Maharashtra v Praful B. Desai AIR 2003 SC 2053; 2003 AIR SCW 1885, where it is opined by the court that actual physical presence is not a must, and presence of the pleader would be sufficient. In other words, a person would be able to present himself through “video conferencing” in presence of his pleader, and the same can be considered as evidence. It was also stated by the court that the evidence can also be recorded through “video conferencing”, and the same would be authentic.

Law needs to be change with the time, or it has to keep itself updated with the pace of time. Notwithstanding the fact that these evidences have been questioned at times by various legal luminaries for its reliability, they have been consistently used by the court of law from time to time. When we have technology, then it should be used and in the same way should be admissible in the court of law. It has also helped courts delivering justice on time, without any delay and laches. And, the significance of these evidences would become more notable in the future.

"A wise man proportions his belief to the evidence." - David Hume