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The high court said transparency and accountability are paramount in judicial proceedings and every application, pleading, document or any other submission to the court should be duly acknowledged with a unique filing number, ensuring traceability and preventing any potential disputes or discrepancies related to their submission.
“Given the strict timelines, especially in criminal proceedings, commercial courts, and other time sensitive matters, an accurate recording of the filing date is of utmost importance. Absence of concrete acknowledgement threatens the very foundation of procedural fairness and efficiency,” a bench of Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice Sanjeev Narula said in an August 17 order.
The high court’s interim order came on a public interest litigation (PIL) concerning the administrative procedure of acknowledging the filing of pleadings, documents and miscellaneous applications in ongoing cases in Delhi district courts. Currently, there exists no standardised procedure for issuing a filing number or acknowledgement receipt for such submissions.
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In some courts, the court master or reader receives the filings but does not issue an acknowledgement. Such a system has frequently resulted in lost applications or unverified allegations regarding the non-filing of certain documents, the plea said.
It added that this glaring procedural void not only makes it difficult to track and verify filings but also opens the doors for potential manipulation, errors, and mismanagement.
The high court noted that despite initiation of PILs in 2019, a tangible and systematic procedure addressing these concerns remains conspicuously absent in the district courts.
The bench noted it was informed in January this year that deliberations on this issue are currently going on before the Rules Committee of the high court, however, no conclusive resolution has been achieved till date.
“This court emphatically recommends the adoption of a standardised online filing system in the Delhi district courts for the aforementioned filings and submissions. It is crucial that the requisite technological infrastructure be established to support this system. Furthermore, it is essential that lawyers and concerned parties not only have the option to utilise this online method, but also receive appropriate training to navigate it effectively.
“We acknowledge the challenges inherent in such a transition. The initial stages would necessitate the allocation of resources for training and demand adaptability from all stakeholders. However, we are firm in our conviction that, in the long run, this system will usher in an era of greater efficiency, transparency, and reliability,” the bench said.
The bench acknowledged the full implementation of an online system will require time and issued directions to adopt temporary measures, including that district courts shall centralise all filings related to ongoing and pending cases, similar to the existing procedure for new cases.
This system must provide a unique filing number for each submission and also issue an acknowledgment receipt to the party or attorney concerned and, to achieve this, staff recruitment or augmentation may be necessary.
“The respective principal district and sessions judges are tasked with overseeing this centralised filing mechanism’s swift and effective deployment. They must also ensure that the transition is seamless and training is provided to all relevant stakeholders, thereby minimising the disruptions in court proceedings,” it said.
The high court said Patiala House Court will serve as a testing ground for implementing the centralised filing on a trial basis and, following a review by the high court, the system may then be rolled out to other district courts.
It directed all district courts to augment their existing online filing system to incorporate a procedure for filing of miscellaneous applications, aligning them with the existing procedure for new cases.
“They shall also publish a manual/ handbook/ tutorial elucidating the procedure for e-filing documents by counsel/ parties, with relevant screenshots, on their website,” the high court said.
The bench listed the matter for a review on October 9 when the authorities shall give updates regarding the implementation of both the centralised and online systems along with further developments of the deliberations of the Rules Committee of the high court.