How to Export WhatsApp Chat for Court Evidence in India
Exporting a WhatsApp chat for court requires more than just taking screenshots. Courts in India require a properly exported chat file with a Section 63 BSA certificate and cryptographic hash.
Upload your WhatsApp .txt or .zip export → Get a court-ready PDF with Section 63 certificate, SHA-256 hash, and formatted chat timeline. Free. No data leaves your device.
Generate Court-Ready PDF — FreeThe Legal Reality Under BSA 2023
The Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam (BSA), 2023 — which replaced the Indian Evidence Act, 1872 — governs how digital evidence like WhatsApp chats are treated in Indian courts. Under Section 63, electronic records are admissible if:
- The computer (or device) producing the record was in regular use during the relevant period
- Information was being stored or processed by that device regularly
- The output accurately represents the stored information
- A certificate under Section 63(4)(c) is provided by a responsible person
The landmark Supreme Court judgment in Arjun Panditrao Khotkar v. Kailash Kushanrao Gorantyal (2020) 7 SCC 1 established that this certificate is mandatory — without it, electronic evidence is inadmissible.
Why Screenshots Are Not Enough
Screenshots contain no technical metadata. Courts cannot verify when, where, or how the image was created.
Any photo editor can modify text in screenshots. Without a hash, there is no way to prove the content is genuine.
Screenshots cannot be accompanied by a valid Section 63(4)(c) certificate because the certificate must describe the process by which the record was produced.
A WhatsApp .txt export is a structured, timestamped record that can be hashed and certified — the legally correct method.
Technical Compliance: What Courts Actually Need
The Section 63(4)(c) certificate must document a technical process. Chat2Evidence generates all of this automatically:
Frequently Asked Questions
Open WhatsApp → Open the specific chat → Tap the three dots (⋮) in the top right → Select "More" → Tap "Export Chat" → Choose "Without Media" → Share the .txt file to yourself via email or save it.
Open WhatsApp → Open the chat → Tap the contact name at the top → Scroll down → Tap "Export Chat" → Choose "Without Media" → Share the .txt or .zip file to yourself.
For court evidence, export "Without Media" unless specific images or videos are relevant. The text file is what matters for the Section 63 BSA certificate. If you need media evidence, export with media and keep the full .zip file.
WhatsApp exports chats as a .txt file (Android) or .zip file (iOS, which contains a _chat.txt inside). Each message is timestamped in the format [DD/MM/YYYY, HH:MM:SS] Sender: Message.
Yes. Group chats can be exported the same way. However, with multiple participants, the Section 63 BSA certificate should clearly identify each relevant sender and receiver in the conversation.
If the chat was deleted, recovery depends on whether you had enabled WhatsApp backup. Check Google Drive (Android) or iCloud (iPhone) for backup. Courts may also issue summons to WhatsApp for preserved data, though this is a separate legal process.
WhatsApp exports the text as-is for .txt files. If you export with media, it creates a .zip archive. Chat2Evidence handles both .txt and .zip formats automatically.
WhatsApp stores messages on your device until deleted. Cloud backups depend on your settings. Messages are not stored on WhatsApp's servers beyond delivery, which is why device export is the primary method for evidence.
Yes, the opposing party can challenge authenticity. This is precisely why the SHA-256 hash and Section 63 BSA certificate are critical — they provide cryptographic proof that the content has not been altered since export.
Chat2Evidence supports files up to 50 MB, which covers chats with hundreds of thousands of messages. If your file exceeds this, try exporting without media.