While deciding on the bail application under the Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS), the single judge bench of Justice Jaishree Thakur has observed that WhatsApp messages will have no evidentiary value unless certified as per Section 65B(4) of the Indian Evidence Act.
Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) relied on the alleged WhatsApp chats while opposing the bail application.
The messages were not certified under Section 65 B. The bench observed, "The recent judgment rendered by the Supreme Court in the matter of Arjun Panditrao Khotkar Vs. Kailash Kushanrao Gorantyal and others (2020) 7 SCC 1 has held that a certificate Section 65B of the Indian Evidence Act is required when reliance is being placed upon electronic record. Therefore, the said message would be of no evidentiary value as on date."
However, the single judge bench of Punjab and Haryana High Court asked the NCB to rely on these messages once it gets the certificate under Section 65B of the Indian Evidence Act.