BANKERS' BOOKS EVIDENCE ACT, 1891

[Act No. 18 of 1891 dated 1st. October, 1891!

An Act to amend the Law of Evidence with respect to Bankers' Books.
Whereas it is expedient to amend the Law of Evidence with respect to Bankers' Books;
It is hereby enacted as follows !

BANKERS' BOOKS EVIDENCE ACT, 1891
T"t!e a#d E$te#t
"#$ %his Act may be called the Bankers' Books Evidence Act& #'(#.
")$ It extends to the whole of India )*except the +tate of ,amm- and .ashmir./ 0*111/
Def"#"t"o#s
In this Act& -nless there is somethin2 rep-2nant in the s-b3ect or context&!
4*"#$ 5company5 means any company as defined in section 0 of the 6ompanies Act& #(78& "# of
#(78$& and incl-des a forei2n company within the meanin2 of section 7(# of that Act;
"#A$ 5corporation5 means any body corporate established by any law for the time bein2 in force in
India and incl-des the 9eserve Bank of India& the +tate Bank of India and any s-bsidiary bank as
defined in the +tate Bank of India "+-bsidiary Banks$ Act& #(7( "0' of #(7($;/
")$ 5bank5 and 5banker5 means !
7*"a$ any company or corporation carryin2 on the b-siness of bankin2;/
"b$ any partnership or individ-al to whose books the provisions of this Act shall have been
extended as hereinafter provided;
8*"c$ any post office savin2s bank or a money order office;/
8A*"0$ 5bankers' books 5 incl-de led2ers& day!books& cash!books& acco-nt!books and all other
books -sed in the ordinary b-siness of a bank whether kept in the written form or as printo-ts of
data stored in a floppy& disc& tape or any other form of electro!ma2netic data stora2e device./
:*"4$ 5le2al proceedin25 means&!
"i$ any proceedin2 or in;-iry in which evidence is or may be 2iven;
"ii$ an arbitration; and
"iii$ any investi2ation or in;-iry -nder the 6ode of 6riminal <roced-re& #(:0 ") of #(:4$& or -nder
any other law for the time bein2 in force for the collection of evidence& cond-cted by a police
officer or by any other person "not bein2 a ma2istrate$ a-thorised in this behalf by a ma2istrate or
by any law for the time bein2 in force;/
"7$ 5the 6o-rt5 means the person or persons before whom a le2al proceedin2 is held or taken;
"8$ 5,-d2e5 means a ,-d2e of a =i2h 6o-rt;
":$ 5trial5 means any hearin2 before the 6o-rt at which evidence is taken; and
8A*"'$ 5certified copy5 means when the books of a bank&!
"a$ are maintained in written form& a copy of any entry in s-ch books to2ether with a certificate
written at the foot of s-ch copy that it is a tr-e copy of s-ch entry& that s-ch entry is contained in
one of the ordinary books of the bank and was made in the -s-al and ordinary co-rse of b-siness
and that s-ch books is still in the c-stody of the bank& and where the copy was obtained by
mechanical or other process which in itself ens-red the acc-racy of the copy& a f-rther certificate
to that effect& b-t where the book from which s-ch copy was prepared has been destroyed in the
-s-al co-rse of the bank's b-siness after the date on which the copy has been so prepared& a
f-rther certificate to that effect& each s-ch certificate bein2 dated and s-bscribed by the principal
acco-ntant or mana2er of the bank with his name and official title; and
"b$ consists of printo-ts of data stored in a floppy& disc& tape or any other electro!ma2netic data
stora2e device& a printo-t of s-ch entry or a copy of s-ch printo-t to2ether with s-ch statements
certified in accordance with the provisions of section )A./
:A*)A. 6onditions in the printo-t
A printo-t of entry or a copy of printo-t referred to in s-b!section "'$ of section ) shall be
accompanied by the followin2& namely !
"a$ a certificate to the effect that it is a printo-t of s-ch entry or a copy of s-ch printo-t by the
principal acco-ntant or branch mana2er ; and
"b$ a certificate by a person in!char2e of comp-ter system containin2 a brief descriptions of the
comp-ter system and the partic-lars of!
"A$ the safe2-ards adopted by the system to ens-re that data is entered or any other operation
performed only by a-thorised persons;
"B$ the safe2-ards adopted to prevent and detect -na-thorised chan2e of data;
"6$ the safe2-ards available to retrieve data that is lost d-e to systemic fail-re or any other
reasons;
">$ the manner in which data is transferred from the system to removable media like floppies&
discs& tapes or other electro!ma2netic data stora2e devices;
"E$ the mode of verification in order to ens-re that data has been acc-rately transferred to s-ch
removable media;
"?$ the mode of identification of s-ch data stora2e devices;
"@$ the arran2ements for the stora2e and c-stody of s-ch stora2e devices;
"=$ the safe2-ards to prevent and detect any tamperin2 with the system; and
"I$ any other factor which will vo-ch for the inte2rity and acc-racy of the system.
"c$ a f-rther certificate from the person in!char2e of the comp-ter system to the effect that to the
best of his knowled2e and behalf& s-ch comp-ter system operated properly at the material time&
he was provided with all the relevant data and the printo-t in ;-estion represents correctly& or is
appropriately derived from& the relevant data./
BANKERS' BOOKS EVIDENCE ACT, 1891
[Act No. 18 of 1891 dated 1st. October, 1891!
%o&er to e$te#d 'ro("s"o#s of Act
%he +tate @overnment may& from time to time& by notification in the Afficial @aBette& extend the
provisions of this Act to the books of any partnership or individ-al carryin2 on the b-siness of
bankers within the territories -nder its administration& and keepin2 a set of not less than three
ordinary acco-nt books& namely& a cash book& a day!book or 3o-rnal& and a led2er& and may in
like manner rescind any s-ch notification.
)ode of 'roof of e#tr"es "# ba#*ers' boo*s
+-b3ect to& the provisions of this Act& a certified copy of any entry in a banker's books shall in all
le2al proceedin2s be received as prima facie evidence of the existence of s-ch entry& and shall
be admitted as evidence of the matters& transactions and acco-nts therein recorded in every case
where& and to the same extent as& the ori2inal entry itself is now by law admissible& b-t not f-rther
or otherwise.
Case "# &+"c+ off"cer of ba#* #ot co,'e!!ab!e to 'rod-ce boo*s
Co officer of a bank shall in any le2al proceedin2 to which the bank is not a party be compellable
to prod-ce any banker's book the contents of which can be proved -nder this Act& or to appear as
a witness to prove the matters& transactions and acco-nts therein recorded& -nless by order of
the 6o-rt or a ,-d2e made for special ca-se.
I#s'ect"o# of boo*s b. order of Co-rt or /-d0e
"#$ An the application of any party to a le2al proceedin2 the 6o-rt or a ,-d2e may order that s-ch
party be at liberty to inspect and take copies of any entries in a banker's book for any of the
p-rposes of s-ch proceedin2& or may order the bank to prepare and prod-ce& within a time to be
specified in the order& certified copies of all s-ch entries accompanied by a f-rther certificate that
no other entries are to be fo-nd in the books of the bank relevant to the matters in iss-e in s-ch
proceedin2& and s-ch f-rther certificate shall be dated and s-bscribed in manner hereinbefore
directed in reference to certified copies.
")$ An order -nder this or the precedin2 section may be made either with or witho-t s-mmonin2
the bank& and shall be served on the bank three clear days "excl-sive of bank holidays$ before
the same is to be obeyed& -nless the 6o-rt or ,-d2e shall otherwise direct.
"0$ %he bank may at any time before the time limited for obedience to any s-ch order as aforesaid
either offer to prod-ce their books at the trial or 2ive notice of their intention to show ca-se
a2ainst s-ch order& and there-pon the same shall not be enforced witho-t f-rther order.
Costs
"#$ %he costs of any application to the 6o-rt or a ,-d2e -nder or for the p-rposes of this Act and
the costs of anythin2 done or to be done -nder and order of the 6o-rt or a ,-d2e made -nder or
for the p-rposes of this Act shall be in the discretion of the 6o-rt or ,-d2e& who may f-rther order
s-ch costs or any part thereof to be paid to any party by the bank if they have been inc-rred in
conse;-ence of any fa-lt or improper delay on the part of the bank.
")$ Any order made -nder this section for the payment of costs to or by a bank may be enforced
as if the bank were a party to the proceedin2.
"0$ Any order -nder this section awardin2 costs may& on application to any 6o-rt of 6ivil
,-dicat-re desi2nated in the order& be exec-ted by s-ch 6o-rt as if the order were a decree for
money passed by itself
<rovided that nothin2 in this s-b!section shall be constr-ed to dero2ate from any power which the
6o-rt or ,-d2e makin2 the order may possess for the enforcement of its or his directions with
respect to the payment of costs.
8[8. Order of co-rt to be co#str-ed to be order ,ade b. s'ec"f"ed off"cer
In the application of sections 7& 8 and : to any investi2ation or in;-iry referred to in s-b!cla-se
"iii$ of cla-se "4$ of section )& the order of a co-rt or a ,-d2e referred to in the said sections shall
be constr-ed as referrin2 to an order made by an officer of a rank not lower than the rank of a
+-perintendent of <olice as may be specified in this behalf by the appropriate @overnment.
Explanation.! In this section& 5appropriate @overnment5 means the @overnment by which the
police officer or any other person cond-ctin2 the investi2ation or in;-iry is employed./
1oot Notes
#. %his Act has been extended to <ondicherry by Act Co. )8 of #(8'.
). +-bstit-ted by Act Co. 0 of #(7# for the words and letter 5except <art B +tates5.
0. %he word 5and5 at the end of s-b!section ")$ and s-b!section "0$ omitted by Act Co. #D of
#(#4.
4. +-bstit-ted by Act Co. 78 of #(8)& for earlier cla-se "#$.
7. +-bstit-ted& ibid& for earlier s-b!cla-se "a$.
8. Added by Act Co. # of #'(0.
8A. +-bstit-ted by the Information %echnolo2y Act& )DDD w.e.f. (th. ,-ne& )DDD.
:. +-bstit-ted by Act Co. # of #('4& w.e.f. #7th. ?ebr-ary& #('4.
:A. Inserted by the Information %echnolo2y Act& )DDD w.e.f. (th. ,-ne& )DDD.
'. Inserted by Act Co. # of #('4& w.e.f. #7th. ?ebr-ary& #('4.