Introduction:
This Generation is experiencing a drastic change in their lives with the invention of Social media and the Internet in general. Even the older generation is witnessing the cultural as well as a technological shift with the invention of the internet. With the advent of several social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Reddit, LinkedIn and many more, people are changing as well as their lives. A great and recent example of this can be seen with the “concept” of work from home and education from home during the Coronavirus Pandemic where most of the people are using the internet and social media platforms to get their work done easily. Social media is a great and outstanding platform to Connect with people easily, Share photos, videos and basically any content within seconds. Social media affects people in many ways and most of the people even refuse to accept the fact that Social Media and the Internet is taking control over their lives.
But there always are two sides of a coin. With the increase in the use of technology, the rates of Crime, especially, Cyber Crimes has increased. Cyber Crime is termed as a criminal activity which targets or make use of technology in general.[1] With the increase in cybercrimes, several countries are formulating strict legislation in regard to the increasing cybercrimes. India has one of the highest numbers of citizens using the internet and social media. But some people are learning to misuse social media and because of that, Information Technology Act, 2000 came into picture which places a certain restriction on people while using the internet, also, it defines certain offences related to internet and social media such as Cyber Stalking, Phishing, etc.
Admissibility of Electronic Evidence in Indian Courts
The use of E-evidence in the Indian Courts has changed and has amended certain provisions of the Indian Evidence Act. Certain Provisions have been changed in the Indian Evidence Act to give effect to the admissibility of E-evidence in Indian Courts.[2] Amendments and Addition of certain provisions took place such as, the addition of Section 22A [1] Indian Evidence Act, 1872 which provides “When oral admission as to contents of electronic records are relevant Oral admissions as to the contents of electronic records are not relevant, unless the genuineness of the electronic record produced is in question”, also, the definition of “admission” was changed and amended to contain the evidence in electronic form. In order to provide for the relevancy of oral evidence as to the contents of electronic evidence and records are not relevant, unless the genuineness of the electronic records that are produced is in question.[3] Hence, according to the Legislation and provisions, social media can be considered a form of E-evidence, but, since it’s not a traditional form of evidence, it may be considered as a form of special evidence in the Court of Law. However, since the special form of social media evidence is easy to modify and edit, it is mandatory to prove its relevance, originality and authenticity in the court.[4] Section 65A and 65B sets out the provisions that deal with the admissibility of Electronic Records. Section 65A deals with the special provisions as to evidence relating to the electronic record. Whereas, section 65B states that “Any information contained in an electronic record which is printed on a paper, stored, recorded or copied in optical or magnetic media produced by a computer (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.”[5] This section also sets out certain conditions for the admission of evidence and what all needs to satisfy while presenting the evidence in the courts.
Landmark Judgements
- Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva while hearing the petition related to the suicide case, stated that WhatsApp messages cannot be considered as legal evidence, especially when neither the original nor a copy of the original document is produced.
- In the famous personal injury case of Romano v. Steelcase Inc. 2010, the Supreme Court of New York ordered and allowed the defendants to access and go through the social media accounts, deleted pages as well as other information of the Plaintiff. The court stated that the production of her social media and internet related information does not violate her right to privacy and hence, the order is completely valid.[6]
- In the case of Zimmerman v. Weis Markets, Inc., the court permitted discovery of photos and other non-public material from social networking sites where the materials contained information that the defendant felt was relevant in ascertaining the mental and physical state of the plaintiff as a result of a workplace injury.[7]
- Also, on the case of Abdul Rahaman Kunji v. State of West Bengal, the high court of Calcutta stated that an email downloaded and printed from the email id of a person can be proved by Section 65B (Read with Section 88A). Testimony of witness to carry out such procedure to download and print the same and is sufficient to prove communication.[8]
- In the case of Bhim Rathke v. Mr R.K. Sharma put before the Patiala House Court, New Delhi, the court dismissed the application of a complainant who sought for serving of summons through email and WhatsApp. The reason court rejected the application was because the court system does not have the facility to affect the service through electronic mode. However, there are some exceptional cases in which the court can use the certain electronic medium for service of summons.[9]
Conclusion and Comments
The Law of Evidence plays the most important role when it comes to providing justice to the aggrieved and it is a serious need of the hour to frame and formulates even more strict legislations and provisions regarding the admissibility of evidence relating to internet and social media. The problem is that people often take social media and internet concerns lightly and with less seriousness, and this sometimes results in the commission of cybercrimes such as cyberbullying and cyberstalking. Hence, there is a huge need to educate the society about various Cybercrimes and the laws related to it as well.
It seems like there is a lot of confusion regarding the Cybercrimes in the society and sometimes people generally ignore certain grave offences that result in people committing suicide, getting depressed and deterioration of mental health. People need to keep in mind that Cybercrimes are as bad as Regular Crimes if not worse.
E-evidence acquired from social media posts and messages can play a huge importance in deciding the legal cases in the court of law. A recent example of this can be the process of investigation of Rhea Chakraborty. Her social media accounts played a big role in the investigation that took place in Mumbai, Maharashtra by Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB). However, since it is easy to manipulate and alter the social media evidence, the court needs to aware of the fact that the evidence put forth by the parties can be fake and manipulated. Also, while acquiring the E-evidence, the investigators are required to keep the concept of “right to privacy” in their mind. There are also issues of legality that must be considered when capturing content that lies behind measures of protection such as passwords or privacy settings that prohibit access to the general public.[10] Investigation of electronic evidence is rather complicated and must be acquired carefully and without any mistake. Law has a very broad horizon and so does technology. Hence, it is a need of the hour to formulate laws in accordance with technology.
References:
[1] What is cybercrime? Types and how to protect yourself | Kaspersky, https://bit.ly/2SzvJtt
[2] Indian Evidence Act, 1872, No. 1, Act of Parliament, 1872 (India) § 3.
[3] Purnima Mathur, Impact of Social Media in the Law of Evidence, Legal Pedia,
[4] Pushpamitra Roy, The impacts of Social Media on law, June 14, 2020, lawtimesjournal.in, https://bit.ly/33HJdKl
[5] Admissibility of Electronic Evidence, www.nja.nic.in
[6] Romano v. Steelcase Inc. 2010
[7] Zimmerman v. Weis Markets, Inc. No. CV-09-1535 (Pa. Com. Pl. 2011), https://bit.ly/33H3wYa
[8] Abdul Rahaman Kunji v. State of West Bengal [2016 CLRJ 1159]
[9] Bhim Rathke v. Mr. R.K. Sharma on 22 February, 2018
[10] Pushpamitra Roy, The impacts of Social Media on law, June 14, 2020, lawtimesjournal.in, https://bit.ly/33HJdKl
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