New Delhi: In a recent hearing in the Delhi high court stated that WhatsApp conversations cannot be admitted as evidence unless accompanied by the proper certification as required under the Evidence Act, of 1872. This observation was made by Justice Subramonium Prasad while addressing a petition filed by Dell International Services India Private Limited.Why was the case filedIn the case, Dell was contesting an order from the Delhi State Consumer Dispute Redressal Commission, which had upheld the District Commissions decision to reject Dells written statement due to its submission beyond the allowed time frame. The complaint against Dell had been lodged by a man named Adeel Firoz in 2022.Why can we not use Whatsapp screenshot as evidenceDell attempted to use a screenshot of a WhatsApp conversation between the company and Firoz to argue that they had not received the full complaint and its annexures until January 31, 2023, when it was handed over to their counsel. The District Commission, however, found Dells application for a seven-day delay in filing their written statement to be unconvincing and not bona fide. The High Court rejected Dells plea, stating that the WhatsApp screenshot could not be considered in the Writ Petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, especially since there was no indication that these conversations had been presented before the State Commission.What did the court sayThe court emphasized that there was no mention of the WhatsApp conversations in the State Commissions order. Moreover, such conversations cannot be admitted as evidence without the necessary certification under the Evidence Act, of 1872. The court noted that Dell had only submitted its written statement on January 31 of the previous year, claiming not to have received the complete set of documents with the summons, even though a full set had indeed been served with the summons. Consequently, the High Court saw no reason to challenge the District Commissions decision to refuse to condone the delay in filing the written submission and dismissed the Writ Petition accordingly.
