New Delhi, Aug 10 (PTI) The Rajya Sabha on Monday passed a bill, which seeks to replace a British-era legislation and make digital and virtual records admissible evidence in the court of law, in sync with the digital dependence of the banking system.

The Bankers' Books Evidence Bill, 2026, already passed by the Lok Sabha on August 5, seeks to provide for law relating to evidence with respect to bankers' books and to align it with contemporary digital banking practices.

The bill was passed by a voice vote in the Upper House.

Replying to a debate on the bill, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said the banking and financial sector has evolved significantly in this country over the past few decades with the emergence of NBFCs, payment aggregators, fintech companies, and other service providers with a pan-India presence.

These entities, she said, perform an important role in fulfilling the banking and financial needs of the common people. It is, therefore, necessary that whenever and wherever required, they are provided a similar evidential framework.

The finance minister informed that Clause 4 of the bill enables the central government to act and to extend the Act to other regulated financial entities through a notification, ensuring that a uniform evidential framework across all the financial sector is available.

The bill permits banking records to be produced either in physical or in electronic form as the case may be, Sitharaman said.

"The bill strengthens public confidence by providing a clear, secure and transparent legal framework for the use of banking records in legal proceedings while fully safeguarding the privacy and the confidentiality of customers," she added.

"These are the kind of bills in which the Opposition should take part. These are very informative... These are going to help the country to move forward fast, and they are steps on which no one can have a difference of opinion, except if they want to suggest improvements," the Finance Minister said, adding, "It is such a sad state that the Opposition chooses to walk out on such debates".

Sitharaman highlighted that the Prime Minister during his address from the Red Fort had called for a change in mindset and shunning the colonial mindset.

"When we look at Bankers Book Evidence Act, its origin is 1891. The Bill had included instruments related to banking which were relevant for that period which were largely paper based. India has shown exemplary speed in digitising its economy. So instruments with which you are able to do banking have also changed," she observed.

Highlighting that the Bankers' Book Evidence Act was a legislation that was paper based and everything depended on certified copies of bank records in legal proceedings, Sitharaman said the current Bill is being brought to repeal and replace the 1891 Act.

Participating in the debate, Arun Singh (BJP) accused the Opposition of creating a ruckus over a reform and said the government was changing a law dating back to 1891.

"If we look at this completely, this is part of the reforms of the Modi government," he said, alleging that the Opposition was disrupting proceedings because it was unhappy with the replacement of a British-era law.

The BJP member also highlighted the government's banking sector reforms and consolidation of public sector banks. He said the number of public sector banks had been reduced from 27 during the UPA period to 12 under the Modi government and claimed that their total business had risen to Rs 283 lakh crore from less than Rs 100 lakh crore during the UPA era.

Singh claimed that banks were now making profits and said lending to the agriculture sector had also increased.

He said Rs 32 lakh crore in loans was being provided to farmers and claimed that non-performing assets had decreased.

On financial inclusion, Singh referred to the opening of 18 crore bank accounts and the introduction of RuPay cards, saying these were part of the government's efforts to expand access to formal banking.

He also credited UPI with bringing a "revolution" in the world of digital payments. "UPI has become the biggest platform," Singh said, referring to the scale of transactions through the digital payments system. He cited transactions worth Rs 3.14 lakh crore.

AIADMK M P M Thambidurai supported the Bill.

"The bill rightly explains the meaning of Bankers' Books to cover not only physical records but also electronic, digital, virtual, road, etc," he said.

"The cyber fraud, identity theft, unauthorized transactions, and manipulations of the digital records are emerging challenges. Therefore, I urge the government to continuously strengthen the cybersecurity framework associated with the records. I also welcome and appreciate the Honorable Minister bringing his support to this bill," he said.

BJD MP Manas Ranjan Mangaraj also supported the Bill, and said data security should be given the highest priority. "Data security and privacy must be given the highest priority. Banking records contain sensitive personal and financial information. The government must ensure strong safeguards to prevent misuse, unauthorized access and cyber threats," he said.

"Judges, investigative agencies, bank officials and enforcement personnel should receive adequate training to handle electronic evidence effectively. Sir, we must also remember that not every part of the country has fully adopted digital banking," he said.

"Many people in rural and remote areas still depend on traditional banking systems. The implementation of this law should not create difficulties for them or smaller financial institutions. This bill should strengthen public confidence in the banking system while ensuring transparency, security and fairness," the BJD MP said.

Earlier, as the finance minister moved The Bankers' Books Evidence Bill, 2026 in the House for discussion, Opposition parties staged a walkout after the Chair disallowed their attempts to raise issues, including the alleged donation theft at the Ayodhya Ram temple and the use of pellet guns against protesters during the July 20 Sansad march.

The Opposition has been demanding that Union Home Minister Amit Shah come to Parliament and respond to the alleged use of pellet guns against students and other protesters during the July 20 march by students, besides seeking accountability over the alleged theft or misappropriation of donations at the Ram temple. PTI AO RSN MR