Delhi High Court

Karan S Thukral vs The District & Sessions Judge & Ors on 22 April, 2024

Author: Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora

Bench: Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora

$~54

* IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI

+ W.P.(C) 6082/2019

KARAN S THUKRAL ..... Petitioner

Through: Petitioner in person with Ms. Vaishnavi,
Advocate

V
Versus

THE DISTRICT & SESSIONS JUDGE & ORS ..... Respondents
Through: Mrs. Avnish Ahlawat, Standing ounsel
(GNCTD), Services and DSJ with Ms.
Tania Ahlawat, Mr. Nitesh Kumar
Singh, Ms. Laavanya Kaushik, Ms.
Aliza Alam and Mr. Mohnish Sehrawat,
Advocate
Ms. Shubham Mahajan, Advocate for R-
12 (RGDHC)

% Date of Decision: 22nd April, 2024.

HON'BLE THE ACTING CHIEF JUSTICE
HON'BLE MS. JUSTICE MANMEET PRITAM SINGH ARORA

JUDGMENT

MANMOHAN, ACJ: (ORAL)

1. Vide order dated 04th January, 2024, this Court had issued various directions. The learned Registrar General was also directed to file a compliance report.

2. A compliance report dated 12th February, 2024 has been filed by the Registrar General. Ms. Shubham Mahajan, learned counsel for the High Court states that after filing of the report dated 12th February, 2024 some further developments have taken place and requests to take on record a fresh fr report prepared by the Registrar General. The new report is taken on record. The relevant portion of the new report is reproduced hereinbelow:-

Directions Issued Compliance Report

8(a) Centralised Filing System be Implemented implemented in all the District Courts in terms of order dated 17th August, 2023 passed in the present petition.

8 (b) Mandatory e-filing of pleadings, Implemented documents and interim applications shall be adhered to in the jurisdictions already notified vide notification no.12/Rules/DHC dated 22nd February, 2022 under e-filing Rules of the High Court of Delhi, 2021.

8 (c) The Registrar General is directed Implemented.

to initiate steps for extending In continuation of Delhi High Court's earlier mandatory e-filing filing in all Notification No. 12/Rules/DHC dated 22.02.2022, the remaining Civil Jurisdictions and High Court of Delhi Vide Notification 19/Rules/DHC Criminal complaint cases in dated 14.03.2024 has notified that with effect from District Courts, as per the e-filing 01.04.2024 the "e-Filing Rules of the High Court of Rules of the High Court of Delhi, Delhi, 2021"shall also apply to all cases of Civil 2021. Jurisdiction (including Family Court cases) as well as all Criminal Complaint cases in all the District Courts in Delhi.

8 (d) Digitization, in a dedicated i. Digitization of record in record room is being manner, be started in record rooms carried in each district. of all District Courts so as to ii. 724 number of scanners have been procured in digitize the record of decided e-Courts phase III by the High court and cases. Necessary ICT supplied to the district court for augmenting the infrastructure and manpower shall scanning infrastructure in the record rooms. be provided to the record rooms by iii. The record is being digitized in descending the concerned Principal District & manner from latest to old. All files decided Sessions Judge during 2022 have been already digitized. The record pertaining to the year 2021 is under progress.

iv. The tender for digitization of 50 Crore pages is under process and the financial bid has already been opened.

8 (e) Rules Branch of this Court is Amendment (s) have been already carried out in the directed to expedite the process of Delhi High Court Rules in as much as insertion of Rule amending rules as directed in case 1A, 1B & 1C after Rules 1 of Part F (A) titled of Tarif Singh (supra) so that the "General" of the Chapter 16 of volume IV of the Delhi record (except documents required High Court Rules and Orders for the purpose of to be preserved permanently) may destruction of records and retention of the same in be weeded out upon digitization in electronic form. District Courts within five (5) The aforesaid amendment (s) required prior approval weeks. of the Lt. Governor of NCT of Delhi under section 3 of the Destruction of the Records of the Act, 1917. The approval from GNCCTD is already received. The rules have been sent to translation branch for translation. Upon translation the amendments will be notified.

8 (f) As directed in the case of Tarif Committee Headed by Ms. Nivedita Anil Sharma, Singh (supra), the category of Principal Judge, Family Courts, North Rohini has petty cases which do not require already submitted its report and the category of petty digitization and category of cases cases is finalised and approved by the then Pr. District which need to be prioritized for & Sessions Judge (HQ).

digitization, be chalked out on priority by Principal District & Sessions Judge (HQ) in consultation with other Principal District & Sessions Judges within two (2) weeks.

8 (g) Criterion for cases of historical A committee headed by Sh. Virender Kumar Bansal, importance be finalised on priority LD. Principal District & Sessions Judge has already by Principal District & Sessions submitted its report regarding the criterion of cases of Judge (HQ) in consultation with historical importance. other Principal District & Sessions Judges within two (2) weeks 8 (h) h. Upon finalisation of criterion in Quarterly report from January to March, 2024 is respect of petty cases and cases of reproduced below:

historical importance, the process District Files Identified Files Weeded out to weed out files which are ready for weeding out (Judicial files/ for weeding be initiated preferably Traffic Challan/ within three (3) weeks in all Mediation Files) District Courts.

                                                                     Central & West        15,092             12,669
                                                                     North & North West     6,154               2,803
                                                                     South & South East 11,011                 4,739
                                                                     South West          1,37,047             21,620

                                                                     East, North East
                                                                     & Shahdra             18,608             10,346

                                                                   Total               1,91,512              52,167



                     8 (i)      A committee to supervise weeding Committee to supervise the weeding out of record has

out of record in all districts be been constituted in all district courts. constituted in all District Courts

8 (j) Steps taken to ensure availability Directions have been issued in all district to ensure of certifies copies that certified copy be made available irrespective of consignment of files to record room.

3. Ms. Shubham Mahajan, learned counsel for the High Court submits that the grievance raised by the Petitioner regarding the centralized filing of interim applications and their registration already stands addressed, as the centralized filing system has been implemented in all the District Courts. She further states that mandatory e-filing has been extended to all Civil Courts (including Family Courts) and criminal complaint cases in the District Courts from 01st April,

2024 and consequently, the Advocates and parties are required to file all interim applications and documents through the e-filing portal alone wherein every e-filing gets registered.

4. In respect of the weeding out of the record, it is stated that the necessary amendments have been already carried out, criterion for petty cases and cases for historical importance have been decided, committees to monitor weeding out have been constituted in each District Court and around 52,000 files have already been weeded out.

5. However, this Court cannot lose sight of the fact that the situation in record rooms of the District Courts is grim and the process of weeding out of the record needs to be carried out expeditiously and monitored on regular basis. Accordingly, the Principal District and Sessions Judges of all Districts of District Courts in Delhi are directed to monitor the progress of weeding out of cases in their respective districts and take effective steps in this regard.

6. The Principal District & Sessions Judges of all the District Courts are directed to file quarterly reports report in this Court. With the aforesaid direction, the present writ petition stands disposed of.