Govt introduces Bankers’ Books Evidence Act to replace British-era legislation
The Bankers' Books Evidence Act, 1891 will either be repealed or replaced by a new law known as the Bankers' Books Evidence Act, 2026
The government on Monday submitted a bill to amend British-era legislation with the goal of allowing digital and virtual records to be admitted as evidence in court, while keeping with the financial system's dependency on digital technology.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the Bill to the Lok Sabha.
The Bankers' Books Evidence Act, 1891 will either be repealed or replaced by a new law known as the Bankers' Books Evidence Act, 2026.
“With the advancement of technology and growth of digital banking, bank records are increasingly created, stored and maintained using contemporary technology (instead of physical record). It has, therefore, become necessary to modernise and strengthen the existing legal framework to meet the requirements of the present banking system,” the statement of objects and reasons of the Bill said.
The bill proposes to broaden the definition of "bankers' books" to include all types of records kept by banks, regardless of physical, electronic, digital, virtual, cloud-based, or any other form in order to provide a comprehensive, technologically neutral, and future-ready legal framework.
In addition to explicitly recognizing the acceptability of electronic bank records and allowing their production in either physical or electronic form, it seeks to establish standardized certificate formats and authentication by manual, digital, or electronic signatures.
According to the statement, it will also give the central government the authority to apply the proposed legislation to any entity or class of companies that operate in the financial sector, subject to specific requirements.
In any legal case in which the bank is not a party, the Bill aims to define the term "special cause," for which a court may, by written order, require an officer of the bank to disclose any bankers' books or to testify as a witness to prove issues, transactions, or accounts.
The Bankers' Books Evidence Act, 1891 was passed prior to independence in order to make it easier to utilize certified copies of bank records as evidence in court without having to provide the original documents.
When the Act was passed, the majority of banking records were kept in physical form.
