The Supreme Court has affirmed that the hash value and expert certification under the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam are essential to ensuring the authenticity and integrity of electronic records, reinforcing the framework for digital evidence.
Supreme Court Affirms Hash Value Requirement for Electronic Evidence
The Supreme Court has ruled that the requirement for disclosing the hash value of electronic records, along with expert certification as stipulated under the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, serves a critical purpose in guaranteeing the authenticity and integrity of digital evidence. This decision reinforces the legal framework surrounding the acceptance of electronic evidence in Indian courts.
In its ruling, the court articulated that the hash value acts as a digital fingerprint, providing a reliable means to verify that electronic records have not been altered during transmission or storage. This further cements the need for expert certification to lend credibility to such evidence in judicial proceedings.
Legal practitioners must be aware of this ruling as it clarifies the standards for the admissibility of digital evidence. There is an increased responsibility on litigants to ensure their electronic submissions comply with these requirements to prevent challenges to their validity in court.
Citations
- SC (2026) 2026 SCC 1
