Read the below statements marked as Assertion (A) and Reason (R). Mark the correct options: Assertion (A): The Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam recognizes electronic records as primary evidence. Reason (R): Section 62 states that electronic records are secondary unless accompanied by a printed certificate.

Correct — C. A is true. Under Section 57 of the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023, an electronic record produced from proper custody is primary evidence unless it is disputed.

R is false. The Adhiniyam does not make electronic records secondary until certified. Its certificate is a condition for admitting an electronic record, not the test of primary versus secondary → option (c).

Why the others are wrong

• (a)
  Both A and R are true, and R is the correct explanation of A. — R is false, so it cannot explain A. The Adhiniyam treats an electronic record from proper custody as primary evidence, the opposite of R's 'secondary unless certified'.
• (b)
  Both A and R are true, but R is not the correct explanation of A. — R is false, so 'both true' fails. The certificate is what the Adhiniyam requires to admit an electronic record. It does not decide whether the record is primary or secondary.
• (d)
  A is false, R is true. — A is true, not false. Treating electronic records from proper custody as primary evidence is one of the Adhiniyam's changes from the Indian Evidence Act, 1872.

Primary evidence is the document itself, produced for the court to inspect. Secondary evidence is a copy or an account of it, allowed only in set conditions.

The Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023 replaced the Indian Evidence Act, 1872. It moves electronic records into the primary category: one produced from proper custody is primary evidence unless disputed.

It still keeps a certificate requirement for admitting electronic records.

Key facts

• The Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023 replaced the Indian Evidence Act, 1872 and came into force on 1 July 2024.
• Under the BSA, an electronic record produced from proper custody is primary evidence unless disputed.
• The BSA keeps a certificate requirement for admitting electronic records.
• Under the Indian Evidence Act, Section 65B required a certificate to admit computer output, such as a printout or copy of an electronic record.

Common traps

• Assuming every electronic record is only a copy, and so secondary evidence. Under the Adhiniyam, one produced from proper custody is primary unless disputed.
• Treating the certificate as what makes a record primary. It is an admissibility condition, a separate question.

No directly related past PYQ was found.