Section 65B of Indian Evidence Act: How Top Enterprises Ensure Legal Compliance?

Think a signed digital contract is admissible in court? Think again.  The 65B Evidence Act might be the compliance key you’re overlooking.  Under the section 65B of Indian Evidence Act, digital contracts are inadmissible without a proper certificate.

BFSI, logistics, and lending sectors depend on digital document compliance.  They rely on enforceable contracts, onboarding forms, and submitted evidence.  Failing to comply with legal requirements can cause various consequences.  They include lost revenue, damaged reputation, and compromised legal standing.

SignDesk, trusted by over 3,000 businesses, automates digital workflows to comply with Section 65 B.  It enables legally recognized documentation processes.  This guide breaks down the 65B Evidence Act.  It shows how SignDesk automates every step of digital record-keeping compliance.

Section 65B of Indian Evidence Act Compliance: Is Your Business Court-Ready?

Section 65B of Indian Evidence Act, 1872, was introduced through the IT Act, 2000.  Both the IT Act and Evidence Act address the electronic evidence admissibility in legal proceedings.

According to Section 65B(1):

“Any information contained in an electronic record… which is printed on paper, stored, recorded or copied… shall be deemed to be also a document, if the conditions mentioned in this section are satisfied.”

In simple terms, the digital documents can be treated as valid digital evidence in court.

Criteria for Legally Valid eSignatures

• There must be clear intent from the signer to accept the document.
• A verifiable record should be generated when an electronic signature is executed.
• The record must include the procedure followed by the signer to approve the document.
• The act recognizes digital files as valid digital evidence in court.  The files include emails, PDFs, scanned contracts, and system logs.

eSign providers like SignDesk generate detailed audit trails. They capture all necessary information to support digital recordkeeping compliance.

Applicability in Various Industries & Domains

• Section 65B applies to all digital records—including eContracts, onboarding forms, eKYC documents, transaction logs, and communication trails.
• With over 85% of businesses using electronic contracts and 70% of BFSI firms relying on digital onboarding, legal admissibility of electronic records is now a compliance priority.
• Indian Evidence Act 65B is essential for dispute resolution, regulatory compliance, and audit readiness.  More applicable for the sectors that handle large volumes of digital agreements.
• If the industries fail to comply, it can result in contracts being ruled inadmissible, which can impact revenue recovery, fraud investigations, and legal defense.

The 65B Certificate: Your Key to Legally Enforceable Digital Documents

A 65B certificate serves as a self-declaration that the digital document was generated, stored, and retrieved in a lawful manner.

What the 65B Certificate Must Include

To comply with the Evidence Act, the 65B certificate format must include:

Section 65B of Indian Evidence Act in Action: Legal Cases & Supreme Court Observations

The Supreme Court has mandated that eSign and digital proof must meet 65B certificate requirements for electronic evidence admissibility.

→ In Anvar P.V. vs. P.K. Basheer (2014) case, the Court ruled that Section 65B is mandatory for evidence submission in digital format.  Producing digital files without certification is insufficient.

→ Later, in Arjun Panditrao Khotkar vs. Kailash Kushanrao Gorantyal (2020) case, the Court reaffirmed this requirement, stressing that non-compliance can lead to outright rejection of evidence.

→ For businesses relying on digital contracts and eSign workflows,even a properly executed eContract can be dismissed in court if the supporting 65B certificate is missing.

To ensure legal enforceability, businesses must adopt Section 65B compliant automated legal documentation processes like SignDesk. SignDesk simplifies this process by automating record creation and generating ready-to-submit 65B Certificates.

Challenges Faced by Businesses in Complying with Section 65B

In a digital-first economy, not being 65B compliant means risking the enforceability of every digital contract you sign.  Still, many businesses struggle to comply with Section 65B of Evidence Act.

• Manual Certificate Generation is Cumbersome

Creating 65B certificates manually is time-consuming, error-prone, and often neglected.  Legal teams must track device IDs, log generation methods, signatories, and timestamps for every document they process.

• Lack of Awareness Within Internal Teams

Over 60% of operations and legal professionals are unaware of the mandatory nature of the 65B certification.  As a result, businesses assume that a signed PDF is enough, only to discover that their evidence won’t stand in court.

• Inconsistent Tech Systems Create Gaps in Record-Keeping

Disparate platforms for signing, storing, and retrieving contracts lead to fragmented digital trails. Without centralized, evidence management systems, businesses struggle to produce audit-ready evidence when needed.

• High Risk During Audits or Legal Disputes

One missed 65B certificate can derail your entire case.  During audits or legal disputes, the lack of 65B compliant documentation can delay settlements, lead to contractual losses, or even result in revenue recovery failures.

How SignDesk Helps Ensure 65B Compliance for Business Contracts?

Leading digital automation platforms, such as SignDesk, automate 65B compliance, helping enterprises avoid costly oversights and stay legally protected.

Automated Record Generation with Audit Trails

SignDesk’s suite of solutions—including eSign, Digital Stamping, eMandate, and CLM—automatically generates 65B-compliant digital records. Each document is:

• Tamper-proof, with system-generated hashes
• Timestamped, ensuring traceability of every action
• Backed by audit trails that log each step of the document’s lifecycle

These electronic records contain the who, what, when, and how, making them ready for legal scrutiny, audits, and evidence submission.

Every document event—creation, signing, storage—is logged and preserved in real-time, ensuring compliance without manual intervention.

Section 65B of Indian Evidence Act Compliance: Before vs. After SignDesk

Check Your 65B Compliance Status

Why Businesses Choose SignDesk for 65B Compliance?

The SignDesk Advantage for 65B Compliance

Learn How SignDesk Makes Every eContract Legally Admissible

SignDesk: Your Partner for Seamless 65B Certificate Compliance

In a rapidly digitizing regulatory environment, organizations can no longer ignore the legal enforceability of electronic records.  Section 65B is not just a legal clause—it’s a business imperative for risk mitigation and compliance assurance.

With SignDesk, enterprises get more than just digital document workflows.  They gain court-admissible, 65B-compliant digital evidence, backed by robust security and automation.

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