‘Discovery’ is a fact-finding process in litigation which occurs after a lawsuit is filed, to encourage exchange of information between both parties involved and help uncover the truth. Prior to the digital age, non-testimonial evidence primarily comprised paper documents, photographs and other physical evidence. With the prolific use of computers across industries, accepting digital evidence became inevitable in the judicial process, as communication and records on such channels could no longer be dismissed. This impetus drove change within Indian law to enable courts to accept digital evidence.

Amendments made to the Information Technology (IT) Act 2000, Indian Evidence Act 1872, Indian Penal Code 1860, Banker’s Book Evidence Act 1891 and The Companies Act, 2013, provide legislative framework for transactions, reporting, and recording in electronic format. This new admissible digital format now includes electronically stored information (ESI), and is therefore termed ‘eDiscovery’. These amendments are not only progressive and…