The Delhi High Court, on Tuesday, held that WhatsApp conversations cannot be admitted as evidence in legal proceedings unless accompanied by a mandatory certificate as required by the Evidence Act of 1872. The court made such observations in a plea filed by Dell International Services, challenging an order from the State Consumer Dispute Redressal Commission. The commission had upheld the District Commission’s decision to reject Dell’s written statement due to its late submission.
The case originated from a complaint filed by Adeel Firoz against Dell with the District Commission in 2022. In its defence, Dell submitted a screenshot of a WhatsApp conversation with Firoz, aiming to demonstrate that the full copy of the complaint and its annexures had not been received by the company. According to Dell, these documents were only handed over to its counsel on January 31, 2023, shortly before the filing deadline.
The District Commission found Dell’s application for a seven-day delay in submitting its written statement to be insincere. Consequently, the commission rejected the application, leading Dell to appeal the decision.
The court, however, upheld the lower commission’s ruling, emphasising the inadmissibility of WhatsApp conversations as evidence in the absence of the mandated certificate. The court remarked that the WhatsApp screenshot could not be considered in the context of a writ petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India. It was pointed out that there was no evidence that these conversations had been presented before the State Commission.
The court further noted that Dell had filed its written statement only on January 31 of the previous year. The company had contended that it had not received a complete set of documents along with the summons.
However, the court found that a complete set of documents had indeed been served with the summons. Therefore, the court agreed with the decision of the commission. Accordingly, the court dismissed the petition.
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