Chief Justice of India JS Khehar on Thursday disclosed that in the coming months, Supreme Court will transform digitally as filing bulky case records will become a thing of the past.
With the digitisation programme undertaken by the Supreme Court aiming to create electronic records of cases filed in the apex court, the CJI on Thursday said that a plan will soon be in place by which lawyers or litigants need not attach the judgment or case records of the courts below. They will be required to only file the grounds of appeal on which their arguments will be based and the apex court will electronically access the High Court and trial court records pertaining to the case.
CJI Khehar said, “It is going to happen in the next six to seven months. We will require you to only file the short grounds of appeal for challenging the order passed by a High Court. No need to file the trial court and High Court records afresh as they can be electronically accessed.”
The statement comes as part of a progressive move by the judiciary to reduce paperwork and go digital. It will not only aid effective case management but reduce space otherwise consumed to store bulky files of cases filed over the years. Again, there is the danger of these records getting destroyed or spoilt over the years.
The statement by CJI came on a mention being made by former Additional Solicitor General Indira Jaising who came to mention a case for listing before a larger bench. This case pertained to designation of senior advocates which remained a totally opaque process with no rules or guidelines governing it.
Jaising had pointed out that the Full Court of the SC or HC which designates an advocate as a senior lawyer must be based on some criteria, the absence of which was creating resentment among the Bar with certain meritorious lawyers being rejected this honour.