The Bombay High Court on Wednesday held that non-filing of the certified copy of a judgment cannot be an impediment to accept papers and register appeals [Babi Krushna Pawar vs The State of Maharashtra].A Bench of Justice SS Jadhav and MN Jadhav noted that the lawyer concerned had strenuously prepared the appeal memo along with the application for condonation of delay."Non-filing of the certified copy of the judgment shall not be an impediment to accept the papers and register the Appeals by the office," the Court said.The order was passed in a criminal appeal where advocate Pawan Mali was appointed by the Legal Aid Services Authority to argue the case on behalf of the appellant."It appears that the office has not permitted him to file the appeal and application, rather has not accepted his papers on the ground that he has not furnished the certified copy of the impugned judgment. In fact the learned counsel was never given a certified copy of the said judgment by the Legal Aid Service Authority," the Court noted. .The Bench accordingly exempted the applicant from filing of the certified copy of the judgment, and directed its office to accept the papers and register the same as in other proceedings.It ensured that the directions would be applicable to all advocates appointed either by the Court or the Legal Aid Services Authority..[Read Order]
