The Delhi High Court has introduced an "Online e-Filing System" on Saturday, 13th June 2020.
This facility aims to allow the Advocates / litigants-in-person to file fresh cases/caveat as well as applications/reply/rejoinder/document / vakalatnama etc. at any time in the pending cases from their chamber/office/residence or any other location, without the need to visit the Filing Counters / Designated Counters personally.
Now, with DHCBA 's efforts, the District Court online filing system has been modified to allow one user-created online login ID to function for all District Court courts and there is no need for separate District Court IDs.
The court introduced this concept earlier this month. An inauguration ceremony of sorts for the same was conducted online and was attended by Government of India Secretaries, Chief Secretary (GNCTD), Director-General (NIC), Department of Justice, Government of India, District & Sessions Judges, District Judicial Officers, Delhi High Court Bar Association Executive Committee and District Court Bar Associations, Registrars / Joint Registrars of Delhi High Court, Officers of NIC, Advocates, the staff of the Delhi High Court and the general public.
The installed software allows for the e-filing not only of the main case but also of applications, records, and contingency filing. Furthermore, the program allows the registry to screen files, point out faults, label, and list issues via e-mode.
"We have, with the help of our internal team, developed a state of the art software for e-filing which enables the advocates and litigants to file their cases in digital soft copy at anytime from anywhere without having to carry bulky paper files to e-filing counters," the statement said.
The e-filing program is a robust framework that offers paperless handling of cases from the filing stage to disposal. An added benefit of an e-filing system is the inclusion of the electronic court-fee module.
The program was established by the Delhi High Court's IT Cell and the Delhi High Court 's National Informatics Center officers. The main aim of e-filing is to switch to a paperless court system whereby no paper is used from the establishment of the case to its disposal and archival.
Such paperless courts would also remove numerous paper-based system deficiencies such as processing, preserving, wasting a lot of paper, and switching from paper to digital format worldwide, the statement said.
It is said the High Court has sought, with the introduction of the e-filing scheme, to take the traditional litigant 's autonomy to the next level to file proceedings.
The software's special features include lawsuits, procedures, papers, reactions, and rejoinders that can be submitted from anywhere and at any time, and any jurisdiction may have cases filed.
Advocates and litigants can also register themselves as they sit at home and the password reset option is also available.
One can easily file the main case, the query, the documentation, and the caveat. The name of the inspection assistant appears in the inbox as well. Users can also find the status of previously filed cases, fresh cases, and caveats by clicking a button.
In addition to the tutorial video, the Practice Directions have also been uploaded to the Delhi High Court website explaining how to use the software and registration procedure, making the OCR document searchable, adding digital signatures, bookmarking the document and filing caveats.