Tweets and messages on social networking sites such as Facebook can reveal your state of mind. Therefore, they can be used as secondary evidence in legal matters. This particular ruling stems from the IT Act of 2000, which was amended just last year. The social networking clause was included in thes revision due to the widespread use of microblogging and social networking sites.

Anu Sharma had a feeling her husband was lying to her. When she found the proof she needed on his Twitter status, she filed for divorce. Pavan Duggal, a Supreme Court lawyer, says that an angry tweet or status message like, “I hate my wife”, becomes secondary evidence if shown in court via a printout or screen shot. “Any written word available in the public domain can be used under this Act. A statement like this can be used on grounds of mental cruelty,” Duggal said.

In one case, a man e-mailed threatening messages to his wife. The messages were not digitally signed, so they were used as secondary evidence and a divorce case was filed. This is happening with increasing frequency these days due to the popularity of services like Twitter. People are able to file court cases for reasons that they could not in the past due to a lack of evidence. Courts don’t make rulings based on hearsay. They want cold, hard facts and proof.

Haven’t I told you to watch what you say online? It truly will come back to haunt you one day.