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E-filing should be replicated by other tribunals including high courts: SC


E-filing provides for transparency and efficiency in administration of justice, the Supreme Court said on Wednesday while approving the mandatory e-filing rule brought by the Centre in debt recovery tribunals (DRT) and debt recovery appellate tribunals (DRAT) and added that this decision must be replicated by other tribunals and high courts.

The petition submitted that the 2023 Rules were brought by the Centre without consulting the stakeholders. (File image)

A bench headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud said, “E-filing provides for transparency and efficiency in administration of justice. It provides for 24×7 access to justice and enforces convenience to lawyers and litigants. The decision to take up e-filing should be replicated by other tribunals including high courts.”

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The Court was dealing with a petition filed by the MP high court bar association which challenged the department of finance notification of January 31 that made e-filing mandatory irrespective of the debt value under Rule 3 of the DRT and DRAT Electronic Filing (Amendment) Rules 2023.

These rules came into operation from February 1.

Prior to this notification, e-filing was mandatory only in cases where debt to be recovered was more than 100 crore.

The petition argued by advocates Siddharth R Gupta and Mrigank Prabhakar submitted that the 2023 Rules were brought by the Centre without consulting the stakeholders – litigants and lawyers. As a result of mandatory e-filing, the petition stated that many lawyers were put to great disadvantage as some DRTs were situated in areas with low internet connectivity. Due to the digital divide and the lack of technological know-how by aged litigants and senior lawyers, the rules proved to be a disabler than an enabler.

The petition also sought exemptions for women and senior lawyers and litigants to which the bench expressed surprise.

“Why do you presume women will be bad at technology,” asked the bench, adding that female lawyers are more tech-savvy than their male counterparts.

The Court was conscious of the problems highlighted by the petitioner and asked the Centre to set up e-service kendras (digital help desks) with printers and scanners at all DRTs and DRATs.

“Technology is an enabler and facilitator. No citizen should be left behind because of lack of access to technology, least of all, to justice,” said the bench, also comprising justices PS Narasimha and JB Pardiwala.

The Court directed the Centre to prepare standard operating procedure (SOP) for e-service kendras that would be in line with the e-Committee of the Supreme Court. This exercise was directed to be completed in three months.

Further, the top court directed chairpersons of all DRTs/DRATs to submit reports on monthly basis initially for a period of six months suggesting whether it needed any technical upgradation as the petition argued that all DRT/DRAT portals do not support e-filing of bulky documents.

In addition, the Court directed the Director General, National Informatics Centre (NIC) to constitute a team to monitor the progress of e-filing at DRTs/DRATs. If the bar associations still faced problems in filing of cases, they were permitted to submit representations focusing on concrete suggestions to make e-filing more accessible.



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