Electronic records (Commercial Courts)
Full Text
[Commercial Courts Regime — Order XI Rule 6]
(1) In case of disclosures and inspection of Electronic Records (as defined in the Information Technology Act, 2000), furnishing of printouts shall be sufficient compliance of the above provisions.
(2) At the discretion of the parties or where required (when parties wish to rely on audio or video content), copies of electronic records may be furnished in electronic form either in addition to or in lieu of printouts.
(3) Where Electronic Records form part of documents disclosed, the declaration on oath to be filed by a party shall specify––
(a) the parties to such Electronic Record;
(b) the manner in which such electronic record was produced and by whom;
(c) the dates and time of preparation or storage or issuance or receipt of each such electronic record;
(d) the source of such electronic record and date and time when the electronic record was printed;
(e) in case of email ids, details of ownership, custody and access to such email ids;
(f) in case of documents stored on a computer or computer resource (including on external servers or cloud), details of ownership, custody and access to such data on the computer or computer resource;
(g) deponent’s knowledge of contents and correctness of contents;
(h) whether the computer or computer resource used for preparing or receiving or storing such document or data was functioning properly or in case of malfunction that such malfunction did not affect the contents of the document stored;
(i) that the printout or copy furnished was taken from the original computer or computer resource.
(4) The parties relying on printouts or copy in electronic form, of any electronic records, shall not be required to give inspection of electronic records, provided a declaration is made by such party that each such copy, which has been produced, has been made from the original electronic record.
(5) The Court may give directions for admissibility of Electronic Records at any stage of the proceedings.
(6) Any party may seek directions from the Court and the Court may of its motion issue directions for submission of further proof of any electronic record including metadata or logs before admission of such electronic record.
Plain English Summary
Enacts an exhaustive 9-point statutory regime governing the disclosure, certificate on oath, inspection, metadata verification, and admissibility of electronic records, emails, cloud data, and digital evidence in commercial litigation.
Key Legal Elements
- Sufficiency of Printouts (Sub-rule 1): Hard copy printouts sufficient for disclosure, backed by electronic media for audio/video.
- Exhaustive 9-Point Oath Declaration (Sub-rule 3): Codifies statutory requirements mirroring Section 65B Indian Evidence Act / Section 63 Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023.
- Cloud and Email Custody Details: Requires affirmative disclosure of email account ownership, server administrator access, and print timestamps.
- Inspection Exemption (Sub-rule 4): Party cannot be harassed into handing over entire laptops/servers if declaration confirms authenticity.
- Metadata and Audit Logs (Sub-rule 6): Court empowered to order forensic extraction of hash values, headers, and logs in disputed electronic records.
Practical Note
The Master Guide to Electronic Records in Commercial Suits: 1. Supreme Court Landmark - Arjun Panditrao Khotkar v. Kailash Kushanrao Gorantyal (2020) 7 SCC 1: Certificate under Section 65B(4) Evidence Act / Section 63(4) BSA is a condition precedent to admissibility of electronic records. Order XI Rule 6(3) incorporates these requirements directly into the commercial pleading stage. 2. Delhi High Court Practice: Draft the Rule 6(3) Affidavit simultaneously with the Plaint. Title: 'Affidavit / Declaration on Oath under Order XI Rule 6(3) of the Commercial Courts Act, 2015 read with Section 65B of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872 / Section 63 BSA, 2023 in Respect of Electronic Records'. 3. Preserving Metadata: Never alter email headers. Ensure the EML or MSG file format is preserved with complete RFC 822 headers in case metadata is demanded under sub-rule (6).
हिंदी पाठ
[वाणिज्यिक न्यायालय व्यवस्था — आदेश 11 नियम 6]
(1) इलेक्ट्रॉनिक अभिलेखों (IT Act, 2000 द्वारा यथा परिभाषित) के प्रकटीकरण और निरीक्षण के मामले में, प्रिंटआउट प्रस्तुत करना पर्याप्त अनुपालन माना जाएगा।
(2) ऑडियो या वीडियो सामग्री पर निर्भर रहने की दशा में, प्रिंटआउट के अतिरिक्त या उसके स्थान पर इलेक्ट्रॉनिक प्ररूप (Pen drive / CD / Hard drive) में प्रतियां प्रस्तुत की जा सकेंगी।
(3) जहां इलेक्ट्रॉनिक अभिलेख प्रकट किए गए दस्तावेजों का भाग हैं, वहां शपथ पर घोषणापत्र (Certificate under Sec. 65B Evidence Act / Sec. 63 BSA) में 9 अनिवार्य बातें विनिर्दिष्ट होंगी:—
(क) इलेक्ट्रॉनिक अभिलेख के पक्षकार;
(ख) निर्माण का तरीका और निर्माता;
(ग) निर्माण, भंडारण, प्रेषण या प्राप्ति की तारीख और समय;
(घ) स्रोत और प्रिंट लेने की तारीख व समय;
(ङ) ईमेल आईडी के स्वामित्व, अभिरक्षा और पहुंच का विवरण;
(च) कंप्यूटर, सर्वर या क्लाउड डेटा के स्वामित्व और पहुंच का विवरण;
(छ) अंतर्वस्तु का ज्ञान और उसकी सत्यता;
(ज) कंप्यूटर का सुचारू रूप से कार्य करना अथवा खराबी से डेटा प्रभावित न होना;
(झ) प्रिंटआउट मूल कंप्यूटर संसाधन से ही लिया जाना।
(4) मूल से तैयार होने की घोषणा करने पर इलेक्ट्रॉनिक डिवाइस का भौतिक निरीक्षण कराने की आवश्यकता नहीं होगी।
(5) व (6) न्यायालय किसी भी प्रक्रम पर इलेक्ट्रॉनिक साक्ष्य की ग्राह्यता, मेटाडेटा (Metadata) या सिस्टम ऑडिट लॉग्स (Audit logs) तलब करने के निर्देश दे सकेगा।