The government on Monday introduced the Bankers’ Books Evidence Bill, 2026, in the Lok Sabha to expand the definition of “bankers’ books” to include all forms of records maintained by banks, covering physical, electronic, digital, virtual, cloud-based or any other format.
This is intended to create a comprehensive and future-ready framework for using banking records in legal proceedings.
The Bill seeks to modernise and strengthen the existing legal framework to meet the requirements of the present banking system, recognising that banking records today are increasingly created, stored and maintained using contemporary technology rather than only in physical form, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said in the Statement of Objects and Reasons for introducing the bill.
A key change proposed in the Bill is the explicit recognition of electronic bank records as admissible evidence. It provides that courts can receive such records either in physical or electronic form. The Bill also proposes standardised certificate formats for bank records and allows authentication through a “manual, digital, or electronic signature”.
The existing Bankers’ Books Evidence Act, 1891 was enacted to facilitate the use of certified copies of bank records as evidence without requiring banks to produce original records. However, the government noted that the law was framed when banking records were predominantly maintained in physical form and does not fully address the requirements of today’s digital banking ecosystem.
The proposed Bill also provides flexibility to extend its application beyond banks. It empowers the Central Government to apply the legislation to “any entity or class of entities operating in the financial sector”, subject to specified conditions.
Another provision seeks to clarify the circumstances under which courts can require bank officials to produce records or appear as witnesses. The Bill defines “special cause,” for which a court may, through a written order, compel a bank officer to produce bankers’ books or appear as a witness to prove matters relating to transactions or accounts in legal proceedings where the bank is not a party.
The government stated that the proposed changes aim to ensure that evidence laws keep pace with developments in financial technology. By recognising electronic records and digital authentication methods, the Bill seeks to reduce procedural hurdles in legal proceedings involving banking information.
The Bill states that its objective is to repeal the Bankers’ Books Evidence Act, 1891 and introduce the Bankers’ Books Evidence Bill, 2026 with provisions that provide a broader and more contemporary framework for handling bank records.