Indian Evidence Act, 1872 · Chapter V: Of Documentary Evidence · Presumptions as to documents
Section 90A: Presumption as to electronic records five years old
The Indian Evidence Act, 1872 was repealed and replaced by the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023 from 1 July 2024. It still applies to offences and proceedings from before that date.
In plain words
When an electronic record purporting or proved to be five years old is produced from proper custody, the court may presume that an electronic signature on it was affixed by the person whose signature it purports to be, or someone they authorised.
A simplified explanation, prepared with AI assistance from the official text below and checked automatically against it for numbers and cross-references. The official text is the law and prevails over this summary. Not legal advice.
Official text
Where any electronic record, purporting or proved to be five years old, is produced from any custody which the Court in the particular case considers proper, the Court may presume that the [electronic signature] which purports to be the [electronic signature] of any particular person was so affixed by him or any person authorised by him in this behalf.
Explanation.––Electronic records are said to be in proper custody if they are in the place in which, and under the care of the person with whom, they naturally be; but no custody is improper if it is proved to have had a legitimate origin, or the circumstances of the particular case are such as to render such an origin probable. This Explanation applies also to section 81A.]
Source: India Code (Legislative Department), the text of the Act as it stood before its repeal. Words in square brackets [ ] were inserted or substituted by later amending Acts, and *** marks words omitted by an amendment. The amendment footnotes are not reproduced here.