Digital Footprints as Evidence: A New Challenge for Indian Law
Within the past couple of years, our daily life has transferred almost entirely into the digital world. Whether we chat with friends, order food, search something on Google, or simply take a walk with our phone in our pocket, we leave behind “digital footprints.” These footprints are small pieces of information that describe what we did online. Today, these digital traces have become extremely important in criminal investigations, but their use also creates many legal and ethical challenges.
What do we mean by digital footprints?
There are two types of digital footprints.
- Active footprints: those are the actions we do online deliberately, such as photo posting, sending messages or comments, or making some purchases online.
- Passive footprints are those that people leave without realizing it, such as location, browsing history, cookies, or background apps.
Combined, these two types are able to show where someone was, what they were thinking, and even what they planned on doing.
Why are digital footprints becoming important in law?
Many investigations today find their missing links with digital data. Example:
Location data can indicate whether someone was in proximity to a crime scene.
Chats can also be deleted, showing whether someone had a conflict, motive, or secret plan.
CCTV footage stored on cloud servers helps the police to know the order of occurrences.
The search history sometimes shows intention in fraud or cybercrime cases.
Therefore, lawyers and judges have now started considering digital data seriously as a source of evidence. However, the law needs to ensure that it does not get misused.
The Problem of Authenticity
Digital data can easily be altered or deleted. One can manipulate a photo, create a fictitious chat, or use someone else’s device. All this makes digital evidence far different from the traditional sort of evidence, like for instance fingerprints.
For authenticity, it requires a Section 65B certificate under the Indian Evidence Act as proof that the creation of the digital record is untouched and not tampered with. However, more often than not, that procedure is not followed, leading to confusion in courts of law.
Privacy Issues
The most important issue concerns privacy: every digital footprint we leave is part of an immense data collection system-by apps, companies, and sometimes the government.
After the Supreme Court declared privacy a fundamental right, the government cannot collect personal data without due process of law. But in practice, people are still unaware of how much their data is tracked.
Do We Need Stronger Laws?
Yes, India has brought in the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023, but how this would apply to criminal investigations remains to be seen. Meanwhile, police officials must be trained on how to handle electronic evidence. Equally, citizens need to be made aware of what they share online.
Conclusion Digital footprints have become as important as physical evidence and, at times, even more so. They are helping solve crimes and thus raising very serious questions regarding misuses of privacy. As technology is gaining momentum, India needs strong laws that protect the rights of its people while making the wheels of justice effectively turn. Understanding digital footprints is not a matter for lawyers alone; it concerns each and every student living in the digital era.