Case Title: Karan S Thukral v. The District and Sessions Judge & Ors.
Case No.: W.P.(C) 6082/2019
Dated On: April 22, 2024
Quorum: Acting Chief Justice Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora
FACTS OF THE CASE:
The facts of the case revolve around compliance with filing reports, with Karan S. Thukral as the petitioner and the district and session judges acting as the respondents. A compliance report was also instructed to be submitted by the learned Registrar General.
A compliance report from the Registrar General dated February 12th. There were certain developments following the filing of the reports, according to the high court’s experienced counsel.
The focal point of the case revolved around the Centralized Filing System: District Courts will, in accordance with the current protocol for new cases, centralize all filings pertaining to cases that are pending or currently underway. Every submission needs to have its own file number assigned by this system, and the party or attorney sending the documents needs to receive an acknowledgment receipt.
The systematic logging of various applications, documents, pleadings, and other filings at centralized filing counters under the supervision of assigned staff members is required. It could be required to hire more employees or enhance existing ones in order to do this. It is the responsibility of the corresponding Principal District and Sessions Judges to supervise the prompt and efficient implementation of this centralised filing process.
District Courts should centralise all case-related filings, just as they currently do for new cases. Every submission needs to have its own file number assigned by this system, and the party or attorney sending the documents needs to receive an acknowledgment receipt.
It is imperative that they guarantee a smooth transition and offer training to all pertinent parties involved to minimise any disturbances to the legal procedures.” The efficient and timely implementation of this centralised filing procedure is under the purview of the corresponding principal district and session judges. In order to minimise disruptions to court proceedings, they must also make sure that the transition is smooth and that all pertinent parties receive training.
The Centralised Filing System has been successfully deployed at the Patiala House District Courts and is operating efficiently, according to the status report filed on October 9, 2023, which also said that the aforementioned instructions have been followed.
CONTENTIONS OF THE PETITIONER:
The learned counsel for the respondent for the HighHigh Court, Ms. Shubham Mahajan, claims that the files had to be digitised in order to comply with the aforementioned directives before being picked out. Additionally, she says that in 2017, Delhi District Courts’ digitization initiative was just getting started. This resulted in a massive increase in the number of files pending in record rooms and a slowdown in the process of sorting out the determined cases.
It is further contended that because the District Courts were having trouble sorting through records, they requested that this Court’s Information Technology Committee take a look at the aforementioned circumstance. She goes on to say that the Committee in question suggested to the Registry, as per the Minutes of the Meeting held on July 20, 2022, that it obtains judicial clarity from the aforementioned Court.
It is also alleged that the Registry in Tarif Singh then submitted an application to get clarification on a number of orders. She adds that the following instructions have been issued by the knowledgeable Single Judge via an order dated June 1, 2023:
- The instructions in this decision were restricted to criminal cases, but they would later be extended to civil cases as well.
- As long as the Record has not yet reached its statutory preservation time and has no historical significance, it may be removed in accordance with current regulations.
- Data about cases filed or pending in the High Court will be made available by the High Court Registry to the District Court through an API or other IT interface in cases where any appeal, revision, etc. is filed in the High Court and the Trial Court Record (TCR) is required for efficient adjudication. This will allow the District Court to flag and check the status of appeals, revisions, etc. in the High Court.
- The digitization of every small-case document prior to its deletion is not required. The category of cases that need to be digitalized and the “petty cases” that don’t need to be digitalized will be determined by the Pr. District & Sessions Judge (HQ), in collaboration with all other Pr. District & Sessions Judges and Ld. OIC data rooms.
- The Delhi District Courts’ Pr. District & Sessions Judge (HQ), in collaboration with the other Pr. District & Sessions Judges and the Ld. Chairman (IT & digitalization), will develop a comprehensive list of the types of cases and records that should be given priority for digitalization.
- In order to allow district courts to destroy records (apart from permanent ones), the Registry will take action to include a clause akin to Rules 1A (Volume V, Chapter 5 Part C) in the rules that apply to them as well.
LEGAL PROVISIONS:
- Section 3 of the Destruction of the Records of the Act, 1917: Whenever necessary, the subsequently mentioned authorities may establish regulations on the destruction or other method of getting rid of documents that, in their judgement, have insufficient public worth to warrant their preservation.
COURT’S ANALYSIS AND JUDGMENT:
In the course of the hearing on October 9, 2023, it was also brought to the attention of this court that, in certain District Courts, the Ahlmad is not consigning records of decided cases to the record room, which was making it difficult for people to quickly obtain certified copies or documents.
As a result, all District Judges were instructed to make sure that the custodian of the record promptly remitted the case’s records to the record room upon its disposal and requested a progress report. The status report dated November 18, 2023, has been filed in accordance with the aforementioned directive, providing an update on the consignment’s status and weeding out of record.
Respondent of the High Court filed a supplemental status report during the hearing regarding the files that are ready to be weeded out in the District Courts, along with the timeline needed to complete the task. This was done in light of the above facts when the matter was brought up for hearing.
The records of decided cases in some District Courts are not being consigned to the record room by the Ahlmad, which is causing difficulties in obtaining certified copies/documents in a timely manner, was also brought to the attention of this Court during the hearing on October 9, 2023.
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Judgment reviewed by Riddhi S Bhora.
