Another Milestone: Kerala High Court Goes Paperless

The Kerala High Court has initiated its pride project called the Virtual Office on January 1st, 2022 with the features of e-filing, paperless courts and e-office. 

This means that the filing of cases in the High Court will now be through electronic mode. However, a notice to this effect has also clarified that lawyers will still have to submit two sets of physical copies of the e-filed cases. In the case of vakalath, a scanned copy of the same should be uploaded. In civil cases, the valuation shall be shown as per the existing practices, the notice clarified. With respect to civil cases/petitions which require presentation in person, the petitioner shall present the physical copy of the e-filed petition in person, in compliance with the statutory provisions. 

Justice Raja Vijayaraghavan presented the features and facilities of the pride project of the Court. 

The Advocate Dashboard shows the number of cases by the registered lawyer from the date commencement of his practice indicating their status along with orders or judgments issued if any. The dashboard also reveals the capacity in which the lawyer appeared in each case. 

Another important feature of the dashboard is the Advocate Calendar that shows the number of their cases listed on a particular day, which helps them plan a schedule. 

The platform enables lawyers to file fresh caveats, counter-affidavits, objections interlocutory applications, urgent memos, apply for certified copies of orders and judgments which will be sent to their registered email ID as well as on the dashboard. 

After gathering inputs from lawyers regarding the difficulties in the e-filing system, a new feature has been added to the platform called the Quick E-filing procedure which includes only four steps to simplify the entire procedure.

One of the best features of the platform is that lawyers can view all the details and records presented by them or the opposite side in their cases and if required, take a printout of the same. Importantly, it also enables lawyers to clear defects online or to opt for video conferencing or hybrid mode for appearance in their cases.

The Judges Dashboard similarly indicates the total number of cases pending before the judge and a subject-wise list. It also shows the average disposal rate of each subject matter that helps the Judge decide the time frame it would take to dispose of each matter.

This dashboard also shows the work assessment of the staff working under the judge. All documents of the cases before the Bench will be accessible here and all these files have optical character recognition facility. 

Justice Vijayarghava also remarked while presenting the projects that only 2 magistrates in the entire State, one at Thiruvananthapuram and the other at Kolancherry, had gone completely paperless. Here, reports including summons can be digitally accessed and signed and smart screens are provided to the counsels and witnesses. 

At the High Court, the bench of the Chief Justice was the first truly paperless court. Six other courtrooms have been fully transformed into paperless smart digital courtrooms and in a few months, all the courts are expected to follow suit. 

All these projects have been collectively named as the virtual office - one go- one platform for everyone. 

Chief Justice S. Manikumar while inaugurating the project on Saturday remarked that the introduction of e filing system is aimed to promote paperless filing with the advantages of a new system that includes speedy access to justice, absolute transparency. It includes huge saving on manpower & natural resources as well.