With technology driving vast, people do things they could not imagine, the advancement is applaudable. It connects those physically present in two different continents on the globe. With such vast technology, it also becomes part of evidence and Courts have to assess their credibility. So if a spouse comes up with CCTV footage of a murder case, or WhatsApp chat screenshots of a cheating spouse, how do Courts know those are not edited or doctored? The Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam requires submission of Certificate for Electronic Evidence for admissibility in Court. Let us understand the nitty gritties of this certificate.
Certificate for Submission of Electronic Evidence
The requirement for Electronic Evidence Certificate under BSA Section 63. The provision majorly discusses the admissibility of electronic evidence. In order to submit an electronic or digital evidence in the Court, parties need to submit a certificate to assure its source and authenticity. Section 63 of Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam requires submission of certificate for electronic evidence in the Court. The object behind this requirement is:
- To identify the electronic record;
- To assess the manner in which such digital evidence was produced;
- To record the particulars of any device involved in producing the electronic evidence;
- To seek signature of the person in charge or management of the device;
- To seek signature of an expert assuring the authenticity to the best of his/her knowledge and statement of person in the certificate of electronic evidence.
Electronic Evidence Certificate Format
Here are the two screenshots of certificate for electronic evidence as attached under the schedule to BSA 2023:
Note (Practical Check): The format attached here, though prescribed, is not as much diligently followed in practice. After discussion with several practising advocates, there is one thing that affidavit signed by the party is submitted under Section 63 of BSA. Much emphasis is not given on the part where expert confirmation is required. The technical details are mostly added by the deponent to the best of his/her knowledge.
How to Certify Electronic Evidence?
The procedure for obtaining a certificate of electronic evidence requires confirmation of the contents by the electronic device manager/owner and an expert. The Schedule to Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam contains the certificate format in which Part A has to be filled by the Party. Part B of the same has to be filled by the expert. For the parts of the certificate for digital evidence have to be signed by the party and expert respectively.
The certificate signed by the party lays the details of the device on which such electronic record was produced. It further assures proper functioning of the device during ordinary course of business. The expert is required to state the hash value of the electronic or digital record and the algorithm through which it is obtained. This hash value is a unique numeric value representing the information of a file or data. The hash value of electronic evidence when compared to hash value of original data reveals whether the same has been altered/doctored. An algorithm is a mathematical function that converts data into a fixed-length string of characters. SHA-256 is the officially approved standard algorithm recognized by the National Institute of Standards and Technology.
Experts for Electronic Evidence Certificate
The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has notified the following laboratories as Examiner of Electronic Evidence:
| State | Experts for Certificate for Electronic Evidence | Address of Expert Laboratories | Scope | Notification Link |
| Gujarat | Centre of Excellence in Digital Forensics (CoEDF) | 6th Floor, Block K, New International Training Centre Building, National Forensics Sciences University, Sector 9, Gandhinagar-382007, Gujarat | A. Computer (Media) B. Forensics Mobile Devices Forensics. | Click Here |
| Gujarat | Regional Forensic Science Laboratory (RFSL) | Falasawadi Police Line, Ring Road, Surat, Gujarat | A. Computer (Media) Forensics excluding Floppy Disk Drive B. Mobile Devices Forensics. | Click Here |
| Gujarat | Directorate of Forensic Science | Directorate of Forensic Science, Gandhi Nagar (Gujarat) | A. Computer (Media) Forensics B. Mobile Devices Forensics. | Click Here |
| West Bengal | Central Government hereby notifies Cyber Forensics & Digital Evidence Examiners Laboratory (CF&DEEL) | SDF Building 1st Floor, Sector-V, Salt Lake, Kolkata | A. Computer (Media) Forensics excluding Floppy Disk Drive B. Mobile Devices Forensics. | Click Here |
| New Delhi | Forensic Wing Lab, Defence Cyber Agency (DCyA) | Rajaji Marg, New Delhi | A. Computer (Media) Forensics excluding Floppy Disk Drive B. Mobile Devices Forensics. | Click Here |
| New Delhi | Cyber Forensics Laboratory, Navy Cyber Group | Naval Hqs, Ministry of Defence (Navy), 4th Floor Chanakya Bhawan, Chanakyapuri, New Delhi | A. Computer (Media) Forensics excluding Floppy Disk Drive B. Mobile Devices Forensics. | Click Here |
| New Delhi | Cyber Forensic Laboratory, Air Force Cyber Group | Air Force Cyber Group,New Delhi | A. Computer (Media) Forensics excluding Floppy Disk Drive B. Mobile Devices Forensics. | Click Here |
| New Delhi | Cyber Forensic Laboratory, Indian Computer Emergency | Indian Computer Emergency, Response Team (CERT-In), Electronics Niketan, 6 CGO Complex, Lodhi Road, New Delhi | A. Computer (Media) Forensics including Drone Storage Media and excluding Floppy Disk Drive B. Mobile Devices Forensics C. CCTV Forensics Media Recovery (excluding Video Authentication and Enhancement) D. Cloud Forensics will be carried out from premises of Cyber Forensic Laboratory, CERT-In using access authentication tokens and credentials recovered from seized exhibits | Click Here |
| New Delhi | Cyber Forensic Laboratory, Army Cyber Group | Army Cyber Group, DGIS (Directorate General of Information Systems) Enclave, Shankar Vihar New Delhi | A. Computer (Media) Forensics excluding Floppy Disk Drive B. Mobile Devices Forensics. | Click Here |
| New Delhi | Computer Forensic and Data Mining Laboratory | Serious Fraud Investigation Office, Ministry of Corporate Affairs, New Delhi | A. Computer (Media) Forensics excluding Floppy Disk Drive | Click Here |
| New Delhi | Forensic Science Laboratory | Sector 14, Rohini, New Delhi under Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi | A. Computer (Media) Forensics excluding Floppy Disk Drive B. Mobile Devices Forensics | Click Here |
| Kerala | Cyber Forensic Division, State Forensics Science Laboratory | Vellayambalam, Thiruvananthapuram Kerala | A. Computer (Media) Forensics excluding Floppy Disk Drive B. Mobile Devices Forensics. | Click Here |
| Himachal Pradesh | Regional Forensic Science Laboratory, Northern Range | Northern Range, Dharamshala, District- Kangra (Himanchal Pradesh) | A. Computer (Media) Forensics excluding Floppy Disk Drive B. Mobile Devices Forensics. | Click Here |
| Karnataka | State Forensic Science Laboratory | Madiwala, Bangaluru, under Directorate of Forensic Sciences, Karnataka, Police Department | A. Computer (Media) Forensics excluding Floppy Disk Drive B. Mobile Devices Forensics. | Click Here |
| Telangana | Central Forensic Science Laboratory | CFSL Hyderabad under Directorate of Forensic Science Services, Ministry of Home Affairs | A. Computer (Media) Forensics excluding Floppy Disk Drive B. Mobile Devices Forensics. | Click Here |
| Telangana | Telangana Forensic Science Laboratory (TGFSL) | Red Hills near Niloufer Hospital Hyderabad | A. Computer (Media) Forensics excluding Floppy Disk Drive B. Mobile Devices Forensics. | Click Here |
| Tamil Nadu | Forensics Science Department | 30A, Kamarajar Salai, Maylapre Chennai – 600004, Tamil Nadu | A. Computer (Media) Forensics excluding Floppy Disk Drive B. Mobile Devices Forensics. | Click Here |
| Goa | Computer Forensic Division, Goa FSL | Goa Forensic Science Laboratory, Goa Police Department, Government of Goa, Verna-Goa | A. Computer (Media) Forensics excluding Floppy Disk Drive B. Mobile Devices Forensics. | Click Here |
FAQs related to Certificate for Electronic Evidence under BSA Section 63
Q. Who can give Certificate under Section 63 of BSA?
A. As laid under Section 63 of Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, certificate for digital evidence has to be signed by the person in charge of the computer or communication device or management of activities, and an expert. The expert here can be a person having technical knowledge of hash value and algorithm as mentioned above. The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has notified several authorities as examiners of electronic evidence.
Q. How to get 65B certificate for WhatsApp chat?
The format for Certificate for Electronic Evidence, has been provided in Schedule to Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam 2023. It kind of an affidavit where the person in the official position for the device’s operation or management of activities signs it. The WhatsApp chats may be certified by the one who was using the said mobile device. The contents of the BSA Section 63 certificate seek to authenticate the manner in which the chats were produced, details of the device, confirmation of its functioning at the time and statement of non-alteration. Another part of the electronic evidence certificate under BSA requires information to be filled by an expert. The signature of the person in charge of the device and an expert is necessary.
Q. Who is an expert under the Evidence Act?
A. The Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam does not expressly mention the expert for issuing certificate of electronic evidence under Section 63. However, the certificate format requires technical information to be filled by the expert. The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has notified several laboratories as Examiner of Electronic Evidence. The list has been shared above.
