Four years after successfully operating the country’s first e-courtroom, the Delhi High Court is now set to launch a system for electronic filing of cases to make the whole institution paperless. The court is also scheduled to launch its online gate pass registration facility.
Chief Justice of Supreme Court Justice P Sathasivam will inaugurate the e-filing facility in the Delhi High Court premises on Friday. Briefing the media about the court’s process of digitisation, Delhi High Court Chief Justice N V Ramana said, “The system is the first-of-its-kind in the country for the advocates and litigants-in-person. This is a good cause which will also help the general public.”
Justice Badar Durrez Ahmed, who is heading the court’s computer committee, said the lawyers and the litigants can bring their petitions, applications and affidavits in a soft copy and file it in PDF format at the e-filing centre set up for them for that purpose.
“The petitions, documents filed electronically will be checked and defects, if any, will be communicated to them through e-mails and SMS. Our next step will be online filing of the cases, which will be done shortly,” Justice Ahmed said. In the first phase, e-filing will begin in taxation and company jurisdictions, subsequently the system will include the other branches like civil and writ cases, he added. At present, tax branch and company courts are functioning paperless e-courts and now the lawyers and litigants-in-person will have to argue their cases with electronic gadgets in those courtrooms.
In addition, to avoid the rush and long queues at pass counters for visitors, the court will launch an online registration for gate pass. “This would enable a visitor to register online for gate pass prior to the visit. He/she has to fill necessary particulars and thereby obtain the registration number online. On the day of visit, the person can collect the pass from the counter at the High Court by providing the registration number and presenting ID proof,” Justice Ahmed said.