Anvar PV v PK Basheer

• Election petition: appellant challenged the election of respondent to Kerala Legislative Assembly
• Appellant produced CDs containing audio recordings and video evidence of corrupt practices
• CDs were not accompanied by a certificate under S.65B(4) Indian Evidence Act
• Appellant argued oral evidence of the persons who made recordings was sufficient
• Respondent objected to admissibility

1. Whether electronic evidence in the form of CDs/recordings can be admitted without compliance with the certificate requirement under S.65B(4) of the Indian Evidence Act.

• S.65B(4) certificate is mandatory for admission of secondary electronic evidence
• Electronic records are admissible as primary evidence only if the original device is produced
• When secondary evidence (copies, printouts, CDs) of electronic records is tendered, S.65B(4) certificate is a condition precedent to admissibility
• Oral evidence about the contents of electronic records CANNOT substitute for the certificate
• Overruled the dilution in State v. Navjot Sandhu (2005) on this specific point

Electronic evidence by its very nature is susceptible to manipulation. The certificate requirement under S.65B(4) ensures: (1) the electronic record was produced by a computer in regular use, (2) information was regularly fed into the computer, (3) the computer was operating properly, (4) the output reproduces the information fed in. This is a threshold requirement for admissibility, not a factor affecting weight. Without it, the court cannot be satisfied of the electronic record's integrity.