P26, which replaced the well-known Section 65B of the Indian Evidence Act. That certificate identifies the device or computer that produced the record, confirms it was operating properly, and describes the manner in which the record was generated, so the court can be satisfied the output is reliable. Without it, a printout of a PDF is just a piece of paper whose origin is unproven. If you want the format and a worked example, see our guides to the Section 65B certificate format with an example and the Section 63 BSA 2023 electronic evidence certificate.

How to Obtain and Preserve the Statement

Good evidence handling starts at the download. Save the original PDF exactly as the bank produces it — do not open it and "Save As", do not edit it, and do not let an email client re-encode it. The single most damaging mistake is to print the statement and scan it back in: that throws away the genuine electronic record, lowers quality, and creates a new file with a completely different fingerprint, breaking the link to what the bank actually issued. Instead, keep the pristine PDF in a clearly named, read-only location, note the date and source, and immediately compute its hash so you have a fixed integrity value from day one. If a paper copy is later required for filing, print it from the preserved original rather than treating the scan as your master copy.

P26 (formerly Section 65B of the Indian Evidence Act). The Bankers' Books Evidence Act also recognises certified copies of entries in bankers' books, including records kept in electronic form, subject to its own conditions. Whether a particular statement is admitted and what weight it carries is for the court to decide on the facts. This is general information, not legal advice.

Do I need a certificate to produce a bank statement downloaded from net banking?
A statement you download from net banking is an electronic record, so courts commonly expect it to be accompanied by the Section 63 BSA / Section 65B certificate that identifies the device and the manner in which the record was produced. Where the statement is a certified copy of entries in bankers' books, the certification required by the Bankers' Books Evidence Act may also be relevant. The exact requirement depends on how the statement is being tendered, so take advice for your matter.

Should I print and re-scan an e-statement before filing it?
No. Printing the PDF and scanning it back in destroys the original electronic record and creates a new, lower-quality image with a different hash. Keep the original PDF exactly as the bank produced it, preserve it unaltered, and record its hash. If a paper copy is needed for filing, produce it from the preserved original rather than treating the scan as the source of truth.

How does hashing a bank statement help in court?
A cryptographic hash is a fixed-length fingerprint of the file. Recording the SHA-256 (and other) hash of the original statement PDF the moment you receive it lets anyone later recompute the value and confirm the file has not changed by a single byte. It does not, by itself, satisfy any statutory certificate, but it gives you a verifiable integrity record that supports the broader evidence story.

Can e-Dex certify a bank statement offline?
Yes. e-Dex runs fully offline on your own Windows machine. It hashes the original statement PDF with multiple algorithms, records a MATCH / MISMATCH verification result, and can generate a Section 63 BSA / Section 65B-style certificate locally, so the statement never leaves your computer. e-Dex helps you produce and preserve the document; it does not decide admissibility, which is a matter for the court.

Conclusion

Electronic bank statements are powerful evidence, but only if you treat them as electronic records from the first download: save the original PDF untouched, never print-and-rescan, record its hash early, and tender it with the certificate the law expects. None of this is a substitute for advice on your specific matter — it is general information about good evidence handling, not legal advice. To hash, verify and certify a statement in minutes, fully offline on a single Windows machine, use e-Dex — the free Digital Evidence Integrity Suite. Download it free and start preserving your bank statements the right way.