SC Upheld Hash Values & Expert Certificate – Section 63(4) BNS
Order dated 22.5.2026 of the Supreme Court in Writ Petition (Civil) No.599 of 2026 of Pune Bar Association Vs. Union of India and others
Electronics Evidence Requires Enhanced Safeguards
SC Upheld Hash Values & Expert Certificate – Section 63(4) of BNS
SC left the broader question of who may sign Part B certificate open for future adjudication in view of the judgment of the Madras High Court but clarified that it is not limited to Section 79A IT Act Examiners.
Pune Bar Association Challenge to Validity of Section 63(4) of BNS
The Order dated 22.5.2026 of Three-Judge Bench of the Supreme Court is important. In this case, the challenge was that the requirements of a certificate signed by an expert for admissibility of electronic records are extremely onerous obligations on a litigant, imposes undue hardship and therefore, the provision of Section 63(4) of BNS Is arbitrary and unjust.
Section 63(4) of BNS has replaced Section 65B of the erstwhile Evidence Act.
The Supreme Court has clearly upheld the validity of Section 63(4) on the ground that “The necessity of incorporating the hash value of the electronic record in the certificate is thus to ensure its authenticity and integrity, and cannot be said to lack a rational nexus with the object of the Act. Similarly, certification by an expert in Part B provides an additional layer of authenticity to the secondary electronic evidence.”
However, what is left open is the finding of the Madras High Court that Part B of Section 63(4) must be filled up by an expert notified under Section 79A of the IT Act. The Supreme Court said that the said decision shall not be treated as binding precedent but refrained from giving any conclusion opinion on this issue and keep the question of law open.
