Whatsapp’s Evidentiary Value

Yesterday it marked the birth anniversary of the late Sushant Singh Rajput. The late actor’s suicide case was a highly talked about case in our society a while ago. The same case led to another widely talked case of Drug Mafia in Bollywood which led to the number of high-profile arrests of Bollywood celebrities by the Narcotics Control Bureau. Do you know that number of evidence in the same case where none other than the screenshots of the WhatsApp chats between the people suspected to be involved in the case? This brings out one question in front of us. Do WhatsApp Chats hold any evidentiary value? Are they even admissible in the court? The following study will help you in clearing your doubts regarding this.

WhatsApp has become an integral part of our daily lives. By the passing time, everyone is getting hooked up on WhatsApp. Every communication now is taking place on WhatsApp.

Technology evolves to make things easy for humans but the nuisance creatures try to breach the ethics and try to find means to engage in criminal activity. It’s an easy way for them to earn money without making much of an effort. We have seen the growing number of crimes being committed on the internet these days.

As such criminal activities keep on growing via means of technology, This brings a question in everybody’s mind that do the WhatsApp messages hold any evidentiary value in legal terms?

With this article, we will clear your doubts about the same.

First, we need to read few definitions mentioned in the Information Technology Act 2000 that makes up the case for the WhatsApp messages having the evidentiary value in law.

Section 2(1)(r) of Information Technology Act, 2000 defines an electronic form with reference to information as any information generated, sent, received, or stored in media, magnetic, optical, computer memory, microfilm, computer-generated micro fiche or similar device.

Section 2(1)(t) of Information Technology Act, 2000 defines an electronic record as data, record or data generated, image or sound stored, received or sent in an electronic form or microfilm or computer generated microfiche.

Section3(2)(e) of The Indian Evidence Act, 1872 states that all documents including electronic records produced for the inspection of the Court. such documents are called documentary evidence.

The above-mentioned definitions affirm that the electronic records produced before the court shall be considered as documentary evidence.

Since the computer or the device in which the messages are stored cannot be brought into court or submitted in court as a person might be reluctant in sacrificing his possession of the device, a printout is usually led in evidence in cases. The person will be required to submit the print out of the said document along with the Certificate u/s 65B of The Indian Evidence Act,1872

Recently The Punjab and Haryana High Court has ruled that an investigating agency can rely upon WhatsApp messages during an investigation. Justice Jaishree Thakur of the P&H High Court added that reliance could, however, be placed on the messages only after complying with provisions of Section 65-B of the Indian Evidence Act.

In its ruling, the court placed its emphasis on The recent judgment by the Supreme Court in the matter of Arjun Panditrao Khotkar Vs. Kailash Kushanrao Gorantyal and others [(2020) 7 SCC 1] where it was held that a certificate Section 65B of the Indian Evidence Act is required when reliance is being placed upon electronic record.

After going through the above study we can conclude that the Whatsapp Messages will have its Evidentiary value only when it is submitted along with certificate u/s 65B.