Is a WhatsApp chat valid evidence in court in India?

Yes, it can be, but a screenshot on its own is the weakest form. Section 61 of the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023 says an electronic record cannot be refused as evidence only because it is electronic, but it does so "subject to section 63". Section 63(4) requires a certificate to be submitted along with the record, signed by a person in charge of the device and an expert.

This guide reads only the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023 (the Adhiniyam). It applies to "all judicial proceedings in or before any Court", but not to affidavits presented to any Court or officer, nor to proceedings before an arbitrator (section 1(2)). Section 1(3) leaves the start date to a Central Government notification, so check it against your case. The Adhiniyam never uses the words WhatsApp or screenshot, so this is how its general rules on electronic records apply.

What the Adhiniyam says about electronic records

• Electronic records can be evidence. Section 61: "Nothing in this Adhiniyam shall apply to deny the admissibility of an electronic or digital record in the evidence on the ground that it is an electronic or digital record". Such a record has "the same legal effect, validity and enforceability as other document", subject to section 63.
• A chat is a document. The definition of "document" in section 2(1)(d) "includes electronic and digital records". Its illustration (vi) lists "messages, websites, locational evidence and voice mail messages stored on digital devices" as documents.
• The route to admissibility is section 63. Section 62 says the contents of electronic records may be proved in accordance with section 63. Under section 63(1), information in an electronic record that is printed on paper, or stored or copied in electronic form, "shall be deemed to be also a document, if the conditions mentioned in this section are satisfied". It is then "admissible in any proceedings, without further proof or production of the original".

Screenshot, printout or the phone itself

Section 59 says documents "shall be proved by primary evidence except in the cases hereinafter mentioned", and section 57 defines primary evidence as "the document itself produced for the inspection of the Court". That is why keeping the original chat on the original phone matters. The Adhiniyam does not say here whether the certificate must also accompany the device itself, so ask your advocate how to file it.

The section 63 conditions

Section 63(2) lists four conditions for a computer output, covering regular use of the device by the person with lawful control over it, regular feeding of information in the ordinary course of activities, that "the computer or communication device was operating properly" (or any fault did not affect the record), and that the record reproduces that information.

The certificate: what it is and who signs

Section 63(4) requires a certificate that does any of three things: (a) identifies the electronic record and describes how it was produced, (b) gives particulars of any device involved, and (c) deals with the section 63(2) conditions. It must be "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". A matter may be stated "to the best of the knowledge and belief of the person stating it in the certificate specified in the Schedule".

The Schedule has two parts. Part A is headed "(To be filled by the Party)" and Part B "(To be filled by the Expert)". Both ask for the device or digital record source, "Make & Model", "Serial Number" and "IMEI/UIN/UID/MAC/Cloud ID" as applicable. Both also ask the person to state: "I state that the HASH value/s of the electronic/digital record/s is", with the algorithm used (SHA1, SHA256, MD5 or other). Each says "(Hash report to be enclosed with the certificate)". Part A is signed with "(Name and signature)" and Part B with "(Name, designation and signature)".

If you want to use a chat as evidence: steps

1. Keep the original. Do not delete the chat or reset or sell the phone. A record "produced from proper custody" is primary evidence, so the chat should stay on the device.
2. Note the device details. The certificate asks for make and model, serial number and IMEI, UIN, UID, MAC or Cloud ID as applicable. Write these down now.
3. Keep screenshots and printouts as copies. Note the date and time you took each.
4. Get the hash value. Both parts ask for the hash value and the algorithm, and a hash report is to be enclosed.
5. Fill Part A. The person in charge of the device completes it. The Schedule allows matters to be stated to the best of your knowledge and belief.
6. Have an expert complete Part B. The expert signs with name and designation, and encloses the hash report.
7. File the certificate with the record. Section 63(4) says it goes in "at each instance" the record is submitted.

If the chat is about money owed, see A Friend Borrowed Money and Stopped Paying You Back. Here Is Your Actual Recovery Path and Client Not Paying Your Invoice? A Founder's Recovery Playbook. If the messages are threats or abuse, see Being Cyberstalked or Harassed Online? Your Legal Options. No outcome is promised.

Sources

• The Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023, Gazette of India Extraordinary, 25 December 2023: sections 1, 2, 57, 59, 61, 62, 63 and the Schedule.

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