The Central Government has notified the Digital Forensics Laboratory at the National Forensic Sciences University (NFSU), Goa Campus, as an “Examiner of Electronic Evidence†under Section 79A of the Information Technology Act, 2000. As a result, digital evidence processed by the lab will carry the highest evidentiary weight and legal admissibility in Indian courts under the newly implemented Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam.
This accreditation grants official recognition to the Goa laboratory in two critical forensic domains: Computer (Media) Forensics and Mobile Device Forensics. With this notification, the facility becomes only the second laboratory under the NFSU umbrella to secure this elite status.
By securing this empanelment, NFSU Goa has joined an exclusive group of highly trusted digital forensics facilities nationwide. It is now one of just 21 officially notified forensic laboratories across the country operating within this stringent framework.
Importantly, this development addresses a major geographical gap in Western India, which has historically suffered from a sparse distribution of apex digital forensics labs. Of the 21 recognised facilities nationally, only four are located in the Western region. The addition of NFSU Goa’s laboratory thus provides a vital strategic asset to the region’s cyber defence and legal infrastructure.
This certification confirms that the laboratory has advanced technical competence, state-of-the-art infrastructure, robust quality systems, certified management protocols, and advanced licensed tools required to securely extract, preserve, and analyse highly sensitive digital data.
Beyond validating its technical capability, the notification is expected to significantly strengthen the academic, research, and consultancy ecosystem of the NFSU Goa Campus.
