INTRODUCTION
Social media is the widely consumed media that enables connectivity between its users and provides ease of socialization, exchange of commercial transactions, advertising, etc. without strict surveillance by an autonomous authority like law. Insurgent groups, Human traffickers, Paedophiles, Stalkers, and many other criminals use this platform to facilitate their illegal motives while actively escaping any punishment. Law enforcement’s use of social media platforms has supplemented countries in tracking criminals, collecting evidence, understanding their intent, access to user-generated data, cost-effectiveness, and the ability to access diverse perspectives, etc., and therefore, ensure compensation to the numerous users and non-users. The admissibility of evidence from social media posts has been a topic of discussion in the legal field while facing the challenge of authentication, balancing the need for relevant information with one’s right to privacy but needs to be addressed by law in today’s digitally contented world.
The analysis of various such platforms has actively helped businesses to identify or set the market trend, similarly, it is a powerful tool to be resourceful in tracking criminals and collection of relevant information through the vast amount of information generated on such platforms over some time. The Indian Evidence Act, of 1872 under Section 65A [1]establishes the admissibility of all kinds of electronic evidence that are by the requirements of Section 65B of the same act. In the case of Anvar P.V. vs P.K. Basheer and others[2], the Indian court dealt with the admissibility of social media posts, the judgment clarified that any such electronic record should have a certificate of authentication to be admissible. Later, in Tomaso Bruno and Another vs State of Uttar Pradesh[3] The court further explained that photographs and messages from social media have to be produced in such a form that their reliability and authenticity are shown.
SOCIAL MEDIA AS A SOURCE OF EVIDENCE AND HEARSAY RULE
The hearsay rule is a fundamental concept in the law of evidence and is important to determine the admissibility of statements made outside the courtroom. Section 60 of the Indian Evidence Act, of 1872 states that oral evidence made outside the court made by someone other than the witness who is testifying is not admissible to ensure the reliability of evidence. However, this rule has many exceptions including Statements made by a person in the course of business in any record is admissible, Res Gestae which are statements closely connected to the transaction, etc. Statements made on social media are key to understanding a person’s behavior, intent, and overall personality and are hence, assessed by the courts based on the degree of authenticity and the context in which the statement was made. Social media statements to be admissible have to overcome the challenge of the hearsay rule which is to establish whether the statement is being offered for its truth or not, such as demonstrating the person’s state of mind. The exceptions to this rule[4] that are admissible are:
- Present Sense Impression: Statements made by the declarant to describe the event or the perception of the declarant.
- State of Mind: Statements reflecting the maker’s physical condition, emotion, etc. to determine the intent of the person.
- Business Records: Statements made in the regular course of business.
SCOPE OF SOCIAL MEDIA INVESTIGATION
Social media Investigations are covered under the realm of open Open-Source Intelligence and cover a wide range of civil and criminal matters. It covers criminal investigations, civil litigation, background checks, employment screening, insurance fraud, Intellectual property disputes, Deepfakes, spreading misinformation, etc. OSINT involves gathering information from publicly available sources that raise privacy concerns, it uses several tools and techniques to extract relevant information from social media platforms. Advanced search tools and filters allow us to narrow down the data and find results based on specific criteria such as keywords, geolocation, sources, etc. Data Scrapers are used to extract large volumes of data from social media platforms which are later analysed using software tools such as media listening and sentiment analysis. To analyse videos and images, Image analysis tools are used. Moreover, Social Network Analysis is a technique used to specifically analyse propaganda or mass sentiment of its users by identifying connections between its users.
RECENT JUDGEMENT RELATED TO SOCIAL MEDIA AS EVIDENCE
SHARON RAJ MURDER CASE: A Kerela Court relied on Digital evidence to solve a case involving a murder.
Facts:
Greeshma and Sharon were in a relationship in 2022, the girlfriend Greeshma wanted to end the relationship but Sharon was reluctant to do so. Later, it was alleged that the girlfriend gave heavy doses of paracetamol mixed in juice to her partner which he refused to drink. However, the convict tried to poison him again in the name of giving an ‘Ayurvedic tonic’ named kashayam which ultimately led to the death of Sharon Raj due to cardiac arrest.
How did technology play a crucial role in solving this crime?
The court considered the medical and digital evidence, combining it with circumstantial evidence to determine Greeshma and Nirmala Kumaran guilty of the crime. The evidence included videos, photos, WhatsApp chats, call data, audio recordings of calls, GPS data, and data from Google searches, which were found by the police.
Judge Basheer explained how the intent of murder on the part of the defendant was crystal clear by highlighting the internet and YouTube searches made by Greeshma on how to poison a person by deceitful means. The honourable court further highlighted the defendant’s attempt to retrieve deleted messages on WhatsApp to conceal the evidence of the crime. Police conducted the investigation and succeeded in solving the case with the aid of pen drives, hard disks, and CCTV footage to reconstruct events. The court held “All the circumstances in this case are a timeline of events that could be proven by analysing timestamps on digital files.’’[5]
Judgement:
Judge A M Basheer delivered the death sentence to Greeshma stating she deserved capital punishment; he agreed with the prosecution that it was one of the “rarest of the rare cases.” Hence, this case becomes a leading example of how the active and passive digital footprint of a person can become the guide to identifying their mindset.[6]
CONCLUSION
The digital landscape is penetrating all walks of life including the legal field, it has proved to be a double-edged sword, where it has allowed the courts to go paperless, tackle the lengthy process by introducing E-filling, etc., but it has also led to the creation of legal vacuums in the field of law which are yet to be answered by the judiciary and legislature. The concerns arising relating to Privacy infringement on social media, protection of consumer rights engaged in online transactions, and credibility of such evidence still exist and need a comprehensive approach to ensure the rights of the people are intact. The courts in India have made relative progress in this field and have been very careful in considering such evidence, however, more clarity and awareness are needed to ensure the maximum benefit to maximum users.
Author(s) Name: Devyani Verma (Bharati Vidyapeeth, New Law College, Pune)
References:
[1] Indian Evidence Act 1872, s 65A, 65B, 60
[2]Anvar P.V. vs P. K. Basheer and others [2014] AIR 2015 SC 180
[3] Tomaso Bruno and Another vs State of UP [2015] AIR 2015 SC 412
[4] Ruchika Mohapatra, “Hearsay Evidence under Indian Evidence Act, 1872: Definition, Admissibility, Exceptions’’, Law octopus Blog 2023 < https://lawctopus.com/clatalogue/clat-pg/hearsay-evidence-definition-admissibility-exceptions/ > Accessed 8 October 2023
[5] Azeefa Fathima, “ From poisoned juice to digital footprints: What a Kerela court found in Sharon Raj’s murder case”, thenewsminute Article, 2025 https://www.thenewsminute.com/kerala/from-poisoned-juice-to-digital-footprints-what-a-kerala-court-found-in-sharon-rajs-murder-case > Accessed 23 January 2025
[6] Praisy Thomas, “ Sharon Raj murder: Kerela court sentences girlfriend Greeshma to death.”, Bar and bench Article 2025 < https://www.barandbench.com/news/sharon-raj-murder-kerala-court-sentences-girlfriend-greeshma-death > Accessed 20 January 2025
