The Calcutta HC has dumped green to go green.
All submissions to the Calcutta High Court contained in petitions, affidavits & applications will now have to be printed on white A4-size executive bond papers instead of the green or embossed papers used till now, a notification issued earlier this week has said.
Green paper, also known as “legal paper”, is thicker & more damaging to the environment, say experts. Use of such paper also pinches litigants’ pockets; a 500-sheet pack of green paper costs Rs 310 but a similar one of A4 sheets comes for Rs 200.
The initial notification for this change came on Jan 20. It stated that documents to be submitted in the appellate side of the court should be printed not on green paper but on legal chart paper or on chart paper “cut to legal size” (8.5 inches by 14 inches). The notification also specified the letter font & size & the spacing between letters in computer printed petitions, appeals or affidavits. This notification was to come into retrospective effect from Jan 1, 2020.
But High Court advocate Nikunj Berlia wrote to the Chief Justice on Jan 24, pointing out that litigants who used green paper between Jan 1 & Jan 20 would then suffer. He also questioned the rationale of not having the same rules for the Original side of the court.
Berlia pointed out that the stipulations would leave two-thirds of the page blank, contributing to a huge wastage. He then pushed for printing on both sides, pointing out that people had no problem reading books or magazines.
Berlia filed a petition on these issues that was mentioned by advocate Phiroze Edulji on Monday for early hearing. The fresh notification came a day later, on Tuesday, addressing most of Berlia’s grievances. The new paper rule now applies to both original & appellate sides of the court & the legal chart paper provision has been removed with new margin specifications allowing for full utilisation of space.
The only issue that is yet to be resolved is the matter of printing on both sides. “Reading double-sided books & magazines don't appear problematic for us. Neither then should reading petitions. That will diminish paper consumption by nearly half. A tree produces 8,333 sheets of virgin-non-recycled-paper & it takes 10 litres (2.6 gallons) of water to create a piece of paper. This effortless fix will have a breath-taking effect on our environment,” Berlia’s petition stated.
Source Link
Picture Source :
