Naveen Panchal v. State of NCT of Delhi
2024:DHC:7684
In the High Court of Delhi
Crl. M.C. 4372/2024 and Crl. M.A. 16584/2024
Before Justice N.B. Krishna
Decided on October 03, 2024

Relevancy of the case: Appropriate stage for an accused to present electronic evidence during a trial

Statutes and Provisions Involved

• The Information Technology Act, 2000 (Section 2(1)(t))
• The Indian Penal Code, 1860 (Section 376)
• The Indian Evidence Act, 1872 (Section 145)
• The Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (Section 226, 227, 228, 294, 482)

Relevant Facts of the Case

• Keshavpuram Police Station registered an FIR number 604/2022 against the petitioner under Section 376 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860.
• The petitioner claimed that he had recorded a conversation on a pen drive before the filing of the FIR. In this recording, the prosecutrix demanded money in exchange for not filing a false case under Section 376.
• The petitioner has approached the court to seek the admission of this pen drive as evidence.

Prominent Arguments by the Counsels

• The petitioner’s counsel claimed that the recording acts as evidence which indicates that the prosecutrix tried to extort money for dropping false charges.
• The respondent’s counsel opposed the application on the ground that this is not the stage of recording evidence. The counsel further submitted that the petitioner should produce all the documents, statements, and objections as per Section 294 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973.

Opinion of the Bench

• Admitting electronic evidence for admission or denial does not necessarily prejudice the prosecution and helps speed up the trial if authenticity is confirmed.
• Section 294 allows an accused to submit documents for admission or denial post framing of charges.
• Any information contained in electronic form qualifies as a document per Section 2(1)(t) of the Information Technology Act, 2000.

Final Decision

• The High Court allowed the petition, while directing the trial court to take the evidence on record and allowing its admission or denial under Section 294.

Shruti Dhakarwal, an undergraduate student at Jayoti Vidyapeeth Women’s University, Jaipur, prepared this case summary during her internship with The Cyber Blog India in January/February 2025.