In Brief
A naval officer, Commander Ravindra V. Desai, was court-martialed for making sexually explicit calls to the wives of naval officers. The prosecution relied on Call Data Records (CDRs) from Vodafone to prove the calls originated from a mobile number registered to him. The respondent challenged the admissibility of CDRs on technical grounds, arguing they lacked proper Section 65-B certification. The Supreme Court held that objections to the mode of proof must be raised when documents are marked as exhibits, not later. It found the CDR evidence admissible and reliable after the service provider clarified technical discrepancies. The Court upheld the conviction on seven charges but reduced the punishment from dismissal to forfeiture of 24 months' seniority, ordering reinstatement without back-pay.
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