Section 90
Presumption as to electronic messages
Reviewed by Ravi Sisodia · Last reviewed 10 October 2026
Official text of section 90 of the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023 (Chapter V: Of documentary evidence), with the matching section of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872.
Section 90, official text
The Court may presume that an electronic message, forwarded by the originator through an electronic mail server to the addressee to whom the message purports to be addressed corresponds with the message as fed into his computer for transmission; but the Court shall not make any presumption as to the person by whom such message was sent.
Source: The Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023 (Act 47 of 2023), Gazette of India Extraordinary, in force from 1 July 2024. The signed Gazette controls.
Compared with the Indian Evidence Act, 1872
Section 90 replaces Section 88 of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872 (“Presumption as to telegraphic messages”). The provision has been reworded or extended compared with the earlier section; read the two texts side by side. The 1872 Act was repealed by section 170 of the Adhiniyam, which saves proceedings pending on 1 July 2024.
Nearby sections
- Section 88 — Presumption as to certified copies of foreign judicial records
- Section 89 — Presumption as to books, maps and charts
- Section 91 — Presumption as to due execution, etc., of documents not produced
- Section 92 — Presumption as to documents thirty years old
Source and review trail
The text above is taken from the Gazette of India publication of the Act. Check later amendments and the signed Gazette before relying on it.
- Official text
- NCRB — Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023, section 90