Bharatiya Sakshya (Second) Bill 2023 defines 'document' to include emails and digital records

This Bill aims to consolidate and provide general rules and principles of evidence to ensure fair trials. It replaces the existing evidence laws with a new framework applicable to judicial proceedings.

The law applies to all judicial proceedings in or before any Court, including Courts-martial. It explicitly excludes affidavits presented to any Court or officer and proceedings before an arbitrator.

• Defines 'document' to include electronic and digital records such as emails, server logs, and messages stored on digital devices.
• Defines 'evidence' to include statements given electronically and documents including electronic or digital records.
• Establishes rules for the relevancy of facts, admissions, and confessions, including specific provisions for confessions caused by inducement, threat, or coercion.
• Sets out rules for oral and documentary evidence, including primary and secondary evidence and the admissibility of electronic records.
• Includes provisions for presumptions regarding electronic records, electronic signatures, and electronic agreements.
• Outlines the burden of proof, including specific presumptions for dowry death, abetment of suicide by a married woman, and absence of consent in rape prosecutions.
• Regulates the examination of witnesses, including cross-examination, leading questions, and the production of documents.
• Specifies that the Act comes into force on a date appointed by the Central Government via notification in the Official Gazette.

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