Digital Evidence

India's Legal Metrology (Indian Standard Time) Rules, 2026 make IST the sole legal time reference from February 2027, raising real questions for contracts, digital evidence, and cyber compliance.

Deepfakes are no longer just a social media problem. As AI-generated video, audio, and images find their way into Indian courtrooms, judges, lawyers, and litigants face a critical question: how do you prove that digital evidence is real? This article breaks down the legal framework, the evidentiary risks, and what the future holds for digital proof in India.

The Supreme Court of India, in State of Maharashtra v. Arjun Sharma, has established a stringent 'twin-test' for the admissibility of AI-generated evidence in criminal trials. The ruling addresses a legal vacuum for technologies like generative AI, which are not covered by Section 65B of the Evidence Act. The test mandates proof of both Authenticity (process integrity) and Reliability (algorithmic soundness), requiring prosecutors to open the AI's "black box" for judicial scrutiny.