e-Dex for Lawyers (India)

The Problem: Electronic Records Need More Than a Printout

When you place an electronic record before a court — a WhatsApp chat, an email, a screenshot or a CCTV clip — a printout on its own is rarely enough. As a general matter, an electronic record is accompanied by a certificate that identifies it and describes how it was produced, a requirement that moved from Section 65B of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872 into Section 63 of the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam (BSA), 2023. Alongside the certificate, you often need to be able to show the record is unaltered. Without a way to fingerprint the file and document its handling, admissibility and weight can be challenged. Our evidence admissibility checklist for India walks through the practical points to confirm.

How e-Dex Helps

e-Dex brings the technical groundwork into a single, offline workflow. It can generate a court-ready Section 63 / 65B electronic-evidence certificate that lists each record and its details; it hashes every record so you can prove the file was not altered between collection and filing; it can apply an optional RFC-3161 trusted timestamp from a time-stamping authority; and it keeps a chain of custody of who handled each record and when. Because it runs fully offline on one Windows machine, privileged client evidence stays under your control. For the underlying law, see our explainers on the Section 63 BSA, 2023 electronic evidence certificate and the Section 65B certificate format with an example.

Typical Records You Can Certify

Day to day, advocates deal with a small set of recurring record types, and e-Dex can hash and certify all of them:

• WhatsApp chats — exported conversations and attachments (see our guide on how to certify a WhatsApp chat for court in India)
• Emails — saved messages with headers and attachments
• Screenshots — captures of apps, websites and messages
• CCTV footage — exported video clips
• Call recordings — audio files
• Bank and UPI records — statements and transaction exports

How It Fits Your Workflow

Four steps take a raw file to a certified, verifiable record:

1. Collect the electronic record and add the file to e-Dex.
2. Hash it — e-Dex computes a cryptographic fingerprint and logs the chain of custody.
3. Certify — generate the Section 63 / 65B electronic-evidence certificate, with an optional trusted timestamp.
4. File and verify — produce the record with its certificate; anyone can re-hash the file later to confirm it is unchanged.

For wider context on judicial treatment of these certificates, see our note on landmark Section 65B judgments in India, and learn more about the suite on our digital evidence software page.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is an electronic evidence certificate under Section 63 of the BSA, 2023?
When an electronic record is produced in court, it is generally accompanied by a certificate that identifies the record, describes how it was produced and confirms the device or process that produced it. This requirement sat in Section 65B of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872, and now sits in Section 63 of the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023. e-Dex helps you generate a structured certificate of this kind, with the per-record hashes that show the material was not altered. This is general information, not legal advice.

Can e-Dex generate a Section 63 / 65B certificate I can file in court?
e-Dex produces a court-ready electronic-evidence certificate that lists each record, its cryptographic hash and an overall verification result, with an optional RFC-3161 trusted timestamp and a chain-of-custody log. You review, complete the case-specific details and have the appropriate person sign it. e-Dex prepares the technical certificate; whether it satisfies the requirements in a particular matter is for the advocate to confirm. This is general information, not legal advice.

How does hashing prove that a WhatsApp chat or screenshot was not altered?
A cryptographic hash is a fixed-length digital fingerprint of a file's contents. Change a single byte and the hash changes completely, so a matching hash is strong proof that the record is bit-for-bit identical to what was collected. e-Dex hashes each record at intake and lets anyone re-compute and compare the hash later, so a WhatsApp export, email, screenshot or CCTV clip can be shown to be unchanged.

Does e-Dex work offline so client evidence stays confidential?
Yes. e-Dex is a free Windows application that runs fully offline. Hashing, certificate generation and chain-of-custody logging all happen on your own machine, so privileged client material never leaves your computer. An internet connection is only needed if you choose to apply an RFC-3161 trusted timestamp from a time-stamping authority.

Which kinds of electronic records can e-Dex certify for litigation?
e-Dex can hash and certify any file-based electronic record, including WhatsApp chat exports, emails, screenshots, CCTV footage, call recordings and bank or UPI statements. It produces per-record hashes and a single certificate so a bundle of records becomes a self-describing, verifiable unit of evidence. This is general information, not legal advice.

Note: This page provides general information about electronic records and integrity tooling. It is not legal advice. For advice on a specific matter, please consult a qualified advocate.

Start Certifying Electronic Evidence

Bring certificate generation, record hashing, trusted timestamps and chain of custody into one free, offline workflow. e-Dex from Innovativa SoftTech (Pune) runs on a single Windows machine and keeps your client's evidence entirely under your control. Download e-Dex free and prepare a court-ready electronic-evidence certificate — or try the hash tool first.