LIJDLR

Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam

DIGITAL EVIDENCE, AI, AND CRIMINAL TRIALS IN INDIA: A CRITICAL ANALYSIS

Volume IV Issue II /

DIGITAL EVIDENCE, AI, AND CRIMINAL TRIALS IN INDIA: A CRITICAL ANALYSIS Puneet Kumar Rastogi, B.A.LL.B.(H), 9th Semester, Student at Faculty of Law, University of Allahabad (India) Download Manuscript doi.org/10.70183/lijdlr.2026.v04.220 The operational framework of criminal investigations and trials in India is undergoing a structural transformation due to rapid advances in consumer electronics, cloud storage, encrypted communications, algorithmic databases, and artificial intelligence. Investigating agencies increasingly rely on data drawn from remote servers, mobile devices, transient messaging platforms, automated forensic systems, and synthetic-media environments to reconstruct criminal conduct. This paper undertakes a doctrinal and constitutional critique of the statutory framework governing electronic evidence under the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023 (BSA), particularly the admissibility regime created by Section 63 and the certificate mechanism under Section 63(4). It argues that the BSA modernizes Indian evidence law by placing electronic records within the mainstream of documentary proof and by introducing clearer distinctions between primary and secondary electronic evidence. However, the paper also finds that the dual-certification model, while improving reliability through custodian and expert validation, may create practical burdens for police agencies and forensic laboratories unless supported by adequate infrastructure and standardized procedures. The analysis further examines the evidentiary risks posed by artificial intelligence, deepfakes, opaque forensic software, and machine-generated outputs. It contends that metadata verification and hash-value integrity, though essential, are insufficient where synthetic media is created as an original digital file. In such cases, courts must demand deeper forensic scrutiny, source-code accountability, error-rate disclosure, and algorithmic transparency. The paper concludes that Article 21’s guarantee of fair trial and due process requires a right to meaningful challenge against automated or AI-assisted evidence, ensuring that technological efficiency does not override constitutional safeguards in Indian criminal trials.

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LEGAL STATUS OF AI-GENERATED EVIDENCE IN INDIAN COURTS

Volume IV Issue I /

LEGAL STATUS OF AI-GENERATED EVIDENCE IN INDIAN COURTS Vansh Srivastava, Student at Amity University, Lucknow Campus, Uttar Pradesh (India) Dr. Arvind Kumar Singh, Associate Professor at Amity University, Lucknow Campus, Uttar Pradesh (India) Download Manuscript doi.org/10.70183/lijdlr.2026.v04.102 The swift progression of Artificial Intelligence has changed the character of evidence in judicial proceedings. AI-generated content, including deepfake videos, synthetic audio, and AI-made digital content, poses serious and new challenges to the basic rules of admissibility, authenticity, and reliability of evidence. Although Indian law has been updated through the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023, which formally acknowledges electronic records as evidence, it does not specifically deal with the unique problems of AI-generated content. This paper looks at how Indian courts can deal with this problem before it gets worse. This paper examines the legal position of AI-generated evidence before Indian courts by looking at existing laws, court decisions and legal rules on electronic evidence. It also studies the challenges created by such evidence, including difficulties in authentication, the widely discussed “black box” problem of AI systems, break in chain of custody, and the potential for deliberate misuse. A comparative study of approaches adopted in jurisdictions such as the United States, the European Union, and the United Kingdom is conducted to identify international best practices. The paper argues that the existing Indian legal framework is not equipped to handle the specific dangers of AI-generated evidence and calls for clear changes, including explicit statutory recognition, better verification methods, required disclosure rules, and training for judges and courts. The study concludes that while AI can genuinely help justice, its uncontrolled use can destroy the very idea of truth that courts depend on.

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