Electronic WhatsApp evidence without authentication or independent corroboration cannot sustain an unexplained-investment addition based on third-party search material.

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....WhatsApp records recovered solely from a third party's mobile phone cannot support an unexplained-investment addition unless their authenticity is established and independent corroborative evidence exists. Electronic records require the prescribed certificate for admissibility, and the material must also comply with the stated requirements for extraction of electronic evidence. A search presumption arising from material found with a third party does not bind the assessee. Because the chats were unauthenticated and unsupported by other evidence, the unexplained-investment addition was deleted and the appeal was allowed.....