(2020) 7 SCC 1 – Arjun Pandit Rao Khotkar Vs. Kailash Kushan Rao Gorantyal and others – Production of a certificate under Section 65 B(4) of Indian Evidence Act 1872 is mandatory for the admission of a secondary evidence of electronic record. No certificate is required for the admissibility of a primary evidence of a electronic record. Ruling in the case of Shafi Mohammad (2018) 2 SCC 801 is overruled.
An electronic record shall be produced before the court along with the charge sheet and at the latest before the trial begins. However, depending on the facts of each case, the court exercising discretion after seeing accused is not prejudiced by want of fair trial may in appropriate cases allow the prosecution to produce such certificate at a later point of time subject to balancing rights of the parties and preventing serious or irreversible prejudice to the accused.
The circumstances under which the obligation of production of certificate can be relieved (Para 47 to 52)
(2019) 8 SCC 1 – Ritesh Sinha Vs. State of Uttar Pradesh and another – Until explicit provisions are engrafted in the Code of Criminal Procedure by the Parliament, the Hon’ble Supreme Court by exercising its jurisdiction under Article 142 of Indian Constitution, conferred powers on the Judicial Magistrate to order a person to give a sample of his voice for the purpose of investigation of a trial.