When did the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023 come into force?

The Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023 came into force on 1 July 2024. Pending matters immediately before commencement continue to be dealt with under the Indian Evidence Act, 1872 in accordance with Section 170(2).

Section 63 BSA 2023: Admissibility of Electronic Records

Q: What does Section 63 of the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023 deal with?

Section 63 governs when information contained in an electronic record, produced as a computer output, may be treated as a document and admitted in evidence subject to the statutory conditions and certificate requirements.

Q: Is a certificate required under Section 63 BSA?

Section 63(4) requires the prescribed certificate to accompany the electronic record at each instance where it is submitted for admission. The Schedule to the Act contains Part A for the party and Part B for the expert.

Updated: 13 September 2026

Section 63 of the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023 (BSA) lays down the conditions under which information contained in an electronic record may be treated as a document and admitted in evidence as a computer output. It operates together with Section 61 and Section 62.

The BSA is Act No. 47 of 2023 and came into force on 1 July 2024. Section 170(2) contains a savings rule for applications, trials, inquiries, investigations, proceedings or appeals that were already pending immediately before commencement.

Meaning and scope of Section 63

Section 63 addresses proof of electronic records through a "computer output". In practical terms, this covers information printed, stored, recorded or copied in electronic form from computers, communication devices, storage media, networks, cloud systems and other electronic sources, provided the statutory conditions are satisfied.

Key requirements at a glance

The electronic information must qualify as a computer output under Section 63(1).
The regular-use, ordinary-course and proper-operation conditions in Section 63(2) must be met.
Multiple computers, devices, systems, networks or intermediary resources may be treated as one system under Section 63(3).
A certificate complying with Section 63(4) and the Schedule must accompany the electronic record at each instance where it is submitted for admission.
The Schedule requires identifying particulars and hash-value information, with Part A to be filled by the party and Part B by the expert.

Section 63 - Statutory text

63. (1) Notwithstanding anything contained in this Adhiniyam, any information contained in an electronic record which is printed on paper, stored, recorded or copied in optical or magnetic media or semiconductor memory which is produced by a computer or any communication device or otherwise stored, recorded or copied in any electronic form (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, without further proof or production of the original, as evidence of any contents of the original or of any fact stated therein of which direct evidence would be admissible.

(2) The conditions referred to in sub-section (1) in respect of a computer output shall be the following, namely:-

(a) the computer output containing the information was produced by the computer or communication device during the period over which the computer or communication device was used regularly to create, store or process information for the purposes of any activity regularly carried on over that period by the person having lawful control over the use of the computer or communication device;

(b) during the said period, information of the kind contained in the electronic record or of the kind from which the information so contained is derived was regularly fed into the computer or communication device in the ordinary course of the said activities;

(c) throughout the material part of the said period, the computer or communication device was operating properly or, if not, then in respect of any period in which it was not operating properly or was out of operation during that part of the period, was not such as to affect the electronic record or the accuracy of its contents; and

(d) the information contained in the electronic record reproduces or is derived from such information fed into the computer or communication device in the ordinary course of the said activities.

(3) Where over any period, the function of creating, storing or processing information for the purposes of any activity regularly carried on over that period as mentioned in clause (a) of sub-section (2) was regularly performed by means of one or more computers or communication device, whether-

(a) in standalone mode; or

(b) on a computer system; or

(c) on a computer network; or

(d) on a computer resource enabling information creation or providing information processing and storage; or

(e) through an intermediary, all the computers or communication devices used for that purpose during that period shall be treated for the purposes of this section as constituting a single computer or communication device; and references in this section to a computer or communication device shall be construed accordingly.

(4) In any proceeding where it is desired to give a statement in evidence by virtue of this section, a certificate doing any of the following things shall be submitted along with the electronic record at each instance where it is being submitted for admission, namely:-

(a) identifying the electronic record containing the statement and describing the manner in which it was produced;

(b) giving such particulars of any device involved in the production of that electronic record as may be appropriate for the purpose of showing that the electronic record was produced by a computer or a communication device referred to in clauses (a) to (e) of sub-section (3);

(c) dealing with any of the matters to which the conditions mentioned in sub-section (2) relate, and purporting to be signed by a person in charge of the computer or communication device or the management of the relevant activities (whichever is appropriate) and an expert shall be evidence of any matter stated in the certificate; and for the purposes of this sub-section it shall be sufficient for a matter to be stated to the best of the knowledge and belief of the person stating it in the certificate specified in the Schedule.

(5) For the purposes of this section,-

(a) information shall be taken to be supplied to a computer or communication device if it is supplied thereto in any appropriate form and whether it is so supplied directly or (with or without human intervention) by means of any appropriate equipment;

(b) a computer output shall be taken to have been produced by a computer or communication device whether it was produced by it directly or (with or without human intervention) by means of any appropriate equipment or by other electronic means as referred to in clauses (a) to (e) of sub-section (3).

Section 63(4) certificate and the Schedule

The certificate requirement is a central feature of Section 63. The certificate must identify the electronic record, explain how it was produced, provide appropriate device particulars and address the conditions in Section 63(2).

The Schedule to the BSA is specifically linked to Section 63(4)(c). It contains Part A, to be filled by the party, and Part B, to be filled by the expert. The Schedule also provides fields for device details, identifiers and hash values, and states that a hash report is to be enclosed with the certificate.

Relationship with Sections 61 and 62

Section 61 provides that an electronic or digital record is not to be denied admissibility merely because it is electronic or digital, subject to Section 63. Section 62 states that the contents of electronic records may be proved in accordance with Section 63. These provisions should therefore be read together.

Commencement and pending proceedings

The Central Government appointed 1 July 2024 as the commencement date of the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023. Section 170(2) provides that matters already pending immediately before commencement continue under the Indian Evidence Act, 1872 as if the BSA had not come into force. The applicable evidentiary regime should therefore be checked with reference to the date and procedural status of the proceeding.

Practical note: Questions concerning admissibility of a particular electronic record can depend on the nature of the device or source, how the record was generated and preserved, the form of certificate produced, and the procedural stage at which it is tendered. The statutory text and applicable judicial decisions should be checked for the facts of the specific case.

Frequently asked questions

What does Section 63 BSA deal with?

It deals with admissibility and proof of electronic records produced as computer outputs, subject to the conditions laid down in the section.

Is a certificate required for electronic evidence under Section 63?

Section 63(4) requires the prescribed certificate to be submitted with the electronic record at each instance where it is submitted for admission.

Does the Schedule require a hash value?

Yes. The Schedule includes fields for hash values and the algorithm used, and states that the hash report is to be enclosed with the certificate.

When did the BSA come into force?

The BSA came into force on 1 July 2024. Section 170(2) preserves the Indian Evidence Act, 1872 for proceedings that were pending immediately before commencement.