New Delhi, Aug. 5 -- The Lok Sabha on Wednesday passed a Bill to replace a British-era legislation with the objective of including digital and virtual records as admissible evidence in the court of law in sync with the digital dependence of the banking system.
As soon as the House reassembled at 2 pm after an earlier adjournment, the opposition members continued with their sloganeering, refusing to heed the pleas of the Chair to discuss the Bankers' Books Evidence Bill, 2026. The Bill was moved by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman for consideration and passage amid din. The Bill seeks to provide for law relating to evidence with respect to bankers' books and to align it with contemporary digital banking practices and for matters connected with that.
As the disruptions continued, the Bill was put to vote without a debate and was passed by a voice vote.
The new law, to be called the Bankers' Books Evidence Act, 2026, will replace the Bankers' Books Evidence Act, 1891. "With the advancement of technology and growth of digital banking, bank records are increasingly created, stored and maintained using contemporary technology (instead of physical record). It has, therefore, become necessary to modernise and strengthen the existing legal framework to meet the requirements of the present banking system," the statement said. mpost
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.