WhatsApp conversations can't be used as evidence without certificate under Evidence Act: Delhi High Court

WhatsApp conversations cannot be used as evidence in a court of law without proper certification under the Indian Evidence Act, the Delhi High Court said recently. [Dell International Services Private Limited v. Adeel Feroze and Ors].Justice Subramonium Prasad made the observation while dealing with an appeal filed by electronics company Dell India against a district consumer commission's refusal to take on record its written statement on the ground of delay."Whatsapp conversations cannot be read as evidence without there being a proper certificate as mandated under the Evidence Act, 1872," the Court said..The district commission's order had been upheld by the Delhi State Consumer Dispute Redressal Commission in December 2023, leading to the present challenge before the High Court.Explaining the delay, Dell said that it had not received the entire complaint copy and its annexures in time from the counsel representing the complainant before the district commission. To buttress its claim, it filed a screenshot of a WhatsApp conversation it had with the complainant. However, the Court refused to take into account the screenshot."The screen shot of Whatsapp conversations cannot be taken into account by this Court while dealing with a Writ Petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, more so, when there is nothing to show that the conversations were produced before the State Commission as this Court does not find any reference of the same in the present Writ Petition. Further, there is no discussion of the same in the Order of the State Commission.".The Court also observed that the district commission had examined the matter in great detail after calling for postal receipts of the documents which were sent along with the summons received by Dell. The commission had come to the conclusion that a complete set of documents was sent along with the summons and the same was received by Dell."The District Commission, therefore, held that the application of the Petitioner herein for condonation of delay of seven days in filing the Written Statement is not bona fide," it added.Concluding that there was no reason to hold that the district commission's refusal to condone the delay was erroneous, the Court dismissed the petition..Advocates Pratyush Miglani and Hrithik Yadav appeared for Dell India..[Read Order]