Bombay High Court Directs Lower Courts To Comply With SC, HC Orders & Processes Based On E-Copies; Amends Civil & Criminal Manual

The notification, issued by Registrar R. N. Joshi inserted para 675 (A) to Chapter XXXV of the Civil Manual. Paragraph 675 (A) states that the receiving Court should ensure compliance of Supreme Court and High Court orders when e-authenticated copies are communicated through the Fast And Secure Transmission of Electronics Records (FASTER) system.

The notification directed the addition of Chapter XXXII-A titled 'E-Judgments, Orders, Processes and Systems' in the Criminal Manual 1980.

The amendment provides that for all purposes in the criminal manual, copies of orders, judgements and processes of the Supreme Court and High Court communicated through the FASTER system must be accepted by everyone concerned as effective, valid and binding without demanding a hard copy.

Further, the lower courts must ensure compliance with e-authenticated copies of bail orders and other processes communicated by the Supreme Court and Bombay High Court through FASTER system without insisting on a hard copy.

The FASTER system, launched by former Chief Justice N. V. Ramana on 31 March, 2022, is a system for transmission of e-authenticated copies of the interim orders, stay orders, bail orders and record of proceedings to the duty-holders for compliance and due execution, through a secured electronic communication channel.