.In this Act, unless there is something repugnant in the subject or context,

(1)

[ company means any company as defined in section 3 of the Companies Act, 1956 (1 of 1956) and includes a foreign company within the meaning of section 591 of that Act;

(1-A) corporation means any body corporate established by any law for the time being in force in India and includes the Reserve Bank of India, the State Bank of India and any subsidiary bank as defined in the State Bank of India (Subsidiary Banks) Act, 1959;] [Substituted by Act 56 of 1962, for Clause (1) (w.e.f. 14.12.1962).]

(2)

bank and banker mean

(a) [ any company or corporation carrying on the business of banking] [Substituted by Act 56 of 1962, for sub-Clause (a) (w.e.f. 14.12.1962).],

(b) any partnership or individual to whose books the provisions of this Act shall have been extended as hereinafter provided,

(c) [ any post office savings bank or money order office;] [Added by Act 1 of 1893.]

(3)

[ bankers books include ledgers, day-books, cash-books, account-books and all other records used in the ordinary business of a bank, whether these records are kept in written form or stored in a micro film, magnetic tape or in any other form of mechanical or electronic data retrieval mechanism, either onsite or at any offsite location including a back-up or disaster recovery site of both;] [Substituted by Act 55 of 2002, Section 11, for Clause(3) (w.e.f. 6.2.2003).]

(4)

[ legal proceeding means,

(i) any proceeding or inquiry in whichevidence is or may be given;

(ii) an arbitration; and

(iii) any investigation or inquiry under the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (2 of 1974), or under any other law for the time being in force for the collection of evidence, conducted by a police officer or by any other person (not being a magistrate) authorised in this behalf by a magistrate or by any law for the time being in force;]

(5)

the Court means the person or persons before whom a legal proceeding is held or taken;

(6)

Judge means a Judge of a High Court;

(7)

trial means any hearing before the Court at which evidence is taken; and

(8)

[ certified copy means when the books of a bank,

(a) are maintained in written form, a copy of any entry in such books together with a certificate written at the foot of such copy that it is a true copy of such entry, that such entry is contained in one of the ordinary books of the bank and was made in the usual and ordinary course of business and that such book is still in the custody of the bank, and where the copy was obtained by a mechanical or other process which in itself ensured the accuracy of the copy, a further certificate to that effect, but where the book from which such copy was prepared has been destroyed in the usual course of the banks business after the date on which the copy had been so prepared, a further certificate to that effect, each such certificate being dated and subscribed by the principal accountant or manager of the bank with his name and official title; and

(b) consist of printouts of data stored in a floppy, disc, tape or any other electro-magnetic data storage device, a printout of such entry or a copy of such printout together with such statements certified in accordance with the provisions of section 2-A;]

(c) [ a printout of any entry in the books of a bank stored in a micro film, magnetic tape or in any other form of mechanical or electronic data retrieval mechanism obtained by a mechanical or other process which in itself ensures the accuracy of such printout as a copy of such entry and such printout contains the certificate in accordance with the provisions of section 2-A.] [ Inserted by Act 55 of 2002, Section 11 (w.e.f. 6.2.2003).]

(a) a certificate to the effect that it is a printout of such entry or a copy of such printout by the principal accountant or branch manager;

(b) a certificate by a person in-charge of computer system containing a brief description of the computer system and the particulars of

(c) a further certificate from the person in-charge of the computer system to the effect that to the best of his knowledge and belief, such computer system operated properly at the material time, he was provided with all the relevant data and the printout in question represents correctly, or is appropriately derived from, the relevant data. ]