Delhi High Court orders district courts to adopt centralised filing system for ongoing cases, provide acknowledgment for every filing

The Delhi High Court has directed the district courts to centralize all filings related to the ongoing and pending cases, and to provide each submission with a unique filing number and issue an acknowledgment receipt to the party or attorney submitting the documents [Karan S Thukral vs. The District and Sessions Judge]..In an order passed on August 17, Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice Sanjeev Narula said that the respective Principal District and Sessions judges would be responsible overseeing this centralized filing mechanism's swift and effective deployment.“Filing of miscellaneous applications, documents, pleadings etc. must be methodically logged at centralized filing counters, overseen by designated personnel. To achieve this, staff recruitment or augmentation may be necessary. The respective Principal District and Sessions Judges are tasked with overseeing this centralized 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 minimizing the disruptions in court proceedings,” the Court directed..It was hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) petition related to lack of acknowledgement for filing of pleadings, documents and miscellaneous applications in ongoing cases in Delhi district courts..While observing that transparency and accountability are paramount in judicial proceedings, the division bench said 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,” it added..However, the Court noted that full implementation of an online system will require time. It that it is imperative to put an interim solution in place, the Court said while issuing interim directions \to address the procedural shortcomings.While ordering creation of a centralized filing system related to ongoing and pending cases, the Court directed court masters in all the district courts to maintain an inward dak register.“Filings related to miscellaneous applications, documents, pleadings etc. will be logged by the Court Master, who will issue an acknowledgment number to the filing counsel/ parties. This temporary system shall cease once the centralized filing is operationalized,” said the bench..The Patiala House Court was ordered to serve as testing ground for implementing the centralized filing on a trial basis. The Court said that following a review, the system may then be rolled out in other district courts.The division bench also directed the 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 Information Technology Committee of this Court is requested to extend necessary aid to the District Courts for integration and operationalisation of the online filing system,” said the Court..The interim measures should be “diligently” adhered to until the formal inauguration and operationalisation of the online filing system or till such time as the Rules Committee finalizes and promulgates rules addressing the issue, the bench underlined.The division bench will review the matter on the next date of hearing, which is October 9. The Court also called for an update regarding the implementation of both the centralized and online systems along with further developments of the deliberations of the High Court Rules Committee..Advocates Sahil Ralli and Vaishnavi Arora represented the petitioner.Standing Counsel Avnish Ahlawat and advocates Nitesh Kumar Singh, Laavanya Kaushik, Aliza Alam and Mohnish Sehrawat represented the respondents..[Read Order]