Delhi High Court Orders Mandatory E-Filing For Civil & Criminal Cases In District Courts, Digitisation Of Records Of Decided Cases

The Delhi High Court has recently ordered that e-filing of pleadings, documents and interim applications be made mandatory in the civil jurisdictions and criminal complaint cases before all the District Courts in the national capital.

Directing that the “Centralised Filing System” for filings related to ongoing and pending cases be implemented in all the District Courts, a division bench of Acting Chief Justice Manmohan and Justice Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora said:

“Mandatory e-filing of pleadings, documents and interim applications shall be adhered to in the jurisdictions already notified vide notification no.12/Rules/DHC dated 22nd February, 2022 under e-filing Rules of the High Court of Delhi, 2021.”

In an order passed on January 04, the court passed a slew of directions for strengthening e-filing and weeding out as well as digitization of record of decided cases in all the district courts.

The court directed its Registrar General to initiate steps for extending mandatory e-filing in all remaining Civil Jurisdictions and Criminal complaint cases in the District Courts, as per the e-filing Rules of the High Court of Delhi, 2021.

At present, e-filing is mandatory in the District Courts only with respect to suits and applications relating to Commercial disputes, complaints under section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881 and all appeals and revisions.

“Digitization, in a dedicated manner, be started in record rooms of all District Courts so as to digitize the record of decided cases. Necessary ICT infrastructure and manpower shall be provided to the record rooms by the concerned Principal District & Sessions Judge,” the court said.

It added that upon finalisation of criterion in respect of petty cases and cases of historical importance, the process to weed out files which are ready for weeding be initiated within three weeks in all District Courts.

The court also constituted a committee to supervise weeding out of record in all District Courts by concerned Principal District & Sessions Judges within two weeks.

“The said committee shall comprise of a Senior District Judge rank DHJS officer, officer In-charge of records room, a DJS officer and In-charge/superintendent of records room. The committee shall carry out fortnightly review of consignment and weeding out of record in the records rooms and present its report to concerned Principal District & Sessions Judge,” the court said.

It ordered that a quarterly report for the first quarter of 2024 shall be filed by all District Courts with the office of High Court's Registrar General for review and monitoring on or before April 15.

“All the learned Principal District & Sessions Judges shall ensure that certified copies of record shall be made available (to the applicant) as per rules, irrespective of position of consignment to the record rooms,” the court said.

The bench observed that it would be in the interest of all the stakeholders that the e-filing process is made robust in Delhi's District judiciary and e-filing be made mandatory in remaining Civil jurisdictions and Criminal complaint cases before the District Courts.

“Simultaneously, there is need to adhere to and insist on strict e-filing of pleadings, documents and applications etc. in the jurisdictions which have been already notified under the e-filing rules. This may be achieved by gradually discouraging the acceptance of physical filing in the notified jurisdictions,” the court said.

The court was dealing with a public interest litigation concerning the lack of standardised procedure for the acknowledgment of pleadings, documents and applications filed in the district courts of Delhi.

In October last year, the court directed all the District Judges in Delhi to ensure that after disposal of a case, its records are immediately transmitted to the record room.

In August last year, the bench had directed all the district courts in Delhi to adopt a “standardized online filing system” for pleadings, documents, and miscellaneous applications and issued a slew of directions to be followed till the time appropriate Rules are in place.

Counsel for Petitioner: Mr. Sahil Ralli, Advocate

Counsel for Respondents: Mrs. Avnish Ahlawat, SC, GNCTD with Mr. N.K. Singh, Ms. Laavanya Kaushik and Ms. Aliza Alam, Advocates for respondents No.1 to 11; Ms. Shubham Mahajan, Advocate for respondent No.12; Mr. Abhilash Malhotra, Joint Registrar (Judicial)(Central Project Coordinator) High Court of Delhi

Case Title: KARAN S THUKRAL v. THE DISTRICT & SESSIONS JUDGE & ORS

Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (Del) 36

Click Here To Read Order