The Madras High Court is contemplating mandatory e-filing of cases in a phased manner so that the lawyers are not inconvenienced while shifting from the present practice of physical filing of cases. To begin with, it is planning to start mandatory e-filing of anticipatory bail petitions and commercial litigations.
Chief Justice Munishwar Nath Bhandari would take a final call on the issue on the basis of the recommendations of the court’s Computer Committee, chaired by Justice M. Duraiswamy and comprising Justices M. Sundar, A.D. Jagadish Chandira and C. Saravanan. The committee is scheduled to meet on Monday to discuss the issue.
Acting on the instructions of the Computer Committee, the High Court’s Registrar (Information Technology-cum-Statistics) A. Saravanakumar had begun conducting demo programmes in the Bar associations. One such programme was conducted at the Madras High Court Advocates Association (MHAA) on Friday.
The Registrar told the gathering that the facility of e-filing of cases was made available to lawyers and litigants since 2020, when courts could not function as usual due to COVID-19. However, all along, it had remained as an optional facility and not mandatory because of the difficulties the Bar might face in making a sudden shift.
Though becoming a ‘paperless court’ was the ultimate aim, it had been decided to reach the goal in a phased manner. He said, the court was particular in creating awareness about the procedures among lawyers and solicit their cooperation in moving towards a mandatory e-filing system.
The Bar was told that the Computer Committee was also discussing the possibility of establishing e-filing facilitation counters to help lawyers scan documents and upload them. The Registrar asked the lawyers to send their suggestions to the committee through MHAA president G. Mohana Krishnan and secretary R. Krishna Kumar.
