Bankers' Books Evidence Act, 2026 shall come into force on 1st October, 2026

The Ministry of Finance's Department of Financial Services has notified October 1, 2026 as the date on which the provisions of the Bankers' Books Evidence Act, 2026 will come into force. The notification, dated 10th September, 2026 was published in the Gazette of India and the Act itself was notified on 13th August, 2026. 

Bankers' Books Evidence Act, 2026 – An Introduction

The Bankers' Book Evidence Act 2026 replaces the Bankers' Books Evidence Act, 1891, which is repealed under section 16 of the new law. The Act governs law relating to evidence with respect to bankers' books and to align it with contemporary digital banking practices. 

Definitions

Section 2 of the Act sets out key definitions: 

• "Bank" and "banker" cover any company or corporation carrying on the business of banking, any entity or class of entities operating in the financial sector to whose books the Act's provisions are extended, and any post office savings bank or money order office.
• "Bankers' books" include ledgers, day-books, cash-books, account books, and other records used in the ordinary course of a bank's business, whether kept in written or physical form, or stored electronically or digitally, on-site or at any off-site, virtual, or cloud location, including a back-up or disaster recovery site.
• "Certified copy" means, for physical records, a copy accompanied by a certificate under section 3(1); for electronic or digital records, a copy printed, stored, or recorded in optical, magnetic, or semi-conductor media, accompanied by a certificate under section 3(2).
• "Legal proceeding" includes any proceeding or inquiry in which evidence is or may be taken, an arbitration, and any investigation or inquiry under the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, or other applicable law, conducted by a police officer or an authorised person.

Terms not defined in the Bankers' Book Evidence Act 2026 but defined in the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996, the Information Technology Act, 2000, the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, and the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023, carry the meanings assigned in those Acts. 

Certification Requirements for Bankers' Books

Section 3 lays down two separate certification regimes.

For physical records, the certificate must state that the copy is true and correct, that the entry is contained in one of the bank's ordinary books made in the usual course of business, that the books remain in the bank's custody (or, if destroyed, were destroyed in the ordinary course after the copy was made), and that the copy ensures its own accuracy if obtained by mechanical process. This certificate follows the format in the First Schedule. 

For electronic or digital records, the certificate must give particulars of the computer system or device used to produce the copy and address the conditions listed in section 7. This certificate follows the format in the Second Schedule. 

Under section 3(3), every certificate must bear its date of issue and be signed or authenticated, manually or through digital/electronic signature under the Information Technology Act, 2000, by the branch head, office head, or another duly authorised bank officer, stating that officer's full name and designation. A proviso permits matters to be stated "to the best of the knowledge and belief" of the signatory. 

Admissibility of Electronic and Digital Records

Section 6 of the Bankers' Book Evidence Act 2026 states that admissibility of an electronic or digital record of a banker's book cannot be denied merely because it is electronic or digital, subject to conditions in section 7. 

Section 7(1) lists the conditions for admissibility of records maintained electronically, including that: 

• the copy was produced by a computer system or communication device regularly used for the relevant activity during the period in question;
• information of the relevant kind was regularly fed into the system in the ordinary course of business;
• the system was operating properly throughout the material period, or any malfunction did not affect the record's accuracy;
• the copy reproduces or is derived from information fed into the system in the ordinary course of business;
• data entry and operations were performed only by authorised persons, with no unauthorised alteration detected;
• adequate safeguards were taken in transferring and storing data on removable media;
• no tampering affecting the system's integrity was detected; and
• the network, devices, and data were secure against cyber risks or threats.

Section 7(2) provides that where multiple computer systems or communication devices, whether standalone, networked, or operated through an intermediary, are used for the same activity over a period, they are treated as constituting a single computer system or communication device for the Act's purposes. 

Production of Bankers' Books and Court Orders

Section 8 provides that no bank officer, in a legal proceeding to which the bank is not a party, can be compelled to produce a banker's book or appear as a witness, unless the Court orders it for "special cause", defined under section 8(2) as doubtful accuracy or genuineness of an entry, interruption in the bank's ordinary record-keeping, or the bank's non-compliance with an order under section 9. 

Section 9 allows a party to a legal proceeding to apply to the Court for liberty to inspect and copy entries, or for the Court to order the bank to produce certified copies along with a further certificate confirming no other relevant entries exist. Orders under sections 8 or 9 must be served on the bank at least three clear days (excluding bank holidays) before compliance is due, unless the Court directs otherwise. The bank may, before the compliance period expires, offer to produce its books at trial or give notice of intent to show cause against the order. 

Section 10 places the costs of applications and compliance in the Court's discretion, which may direct payment between the party and the bank depending on fault or improper delay. Such cost orders may be enforced as if the bank were a party to the proceeding, or executed by a designated Civil Court as a money decree. 

Section 11 provides that where sections 8, 9, or 10 apply to an investigation or inquiry under the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, the "order of Court" is to be read as an order made by an officer not below the rank of Superintendent of Police, or another officer specified by the appropriate Government. 

Other Provisions

Section 4 empowers the Central Government to extend, by notification, the Act's application to books of any entity or class of entities in the financial sector, subject to specified conditions. 

Section 5 states that a certified copy of a banker's book entry is admissible in all legal proceedings as prima facie evidence of the entry's existence, to the same extent as the original entry would be admissible, but not further. 

Section 12 empowers the Central Government to modify the certificate formats in the Schedules by notification. Section 13 protects persons acting in good faith under the Act from suit or prosecution. Section 14 allows the Central Government to remove difficulties in giving effect to the Act by order, within two years of commencement, with such orders to be laid before Parliament. Section 15 requires notifications under the Act to be laid before Parliament. 

Repeal of the 1891 Act

Section 16 repeals the Bankers' Book Evidence Act, 1891, while preserving the previous operation of that Act, rights and liabilities accrued under it, pending investigations or proceedings, and certificates or notifications issued under it. References to the repealed Act in other instruments are to be construed as references to the corresponding provisions of the 2026 Act. Section 6 of the General Clauses Act, 1897 applies to the effect of this repeal.