In a major relief to lawyers and litigants, the Madras High Court has decided to commence e-filing of cases from Wednesday. The High Court will be entertaining bail petitions alone through the electronic mode.
According to court sources, Chief Justice Amreshwar Pratap Sahi has approved a decision taken by the High Court’s computer committee chaired by Justice T.S. Sivagnanam to introduce e-filing of legal papers in a phased manner.
Sources said lawyers as well as litigants who want to argue their cases in person should register in the e-filing portal and obtain a user ID as well as password. Advocates must provide their photographs and identity proof at the time of registration and their phone numbers, e-mail ID as well as Bar Council registration number should match with the details available with the High Court.
Court fees
After registration, they should fill the required fields, scan their case bundles and upload them on the portal. The High Court has decided to begin with bail applications alone because it does not require payment of court fees.
Court fees must be paid for filing other cases such as writ petitions and civil suits. Since integration of e-payment portal with the e-filing portal will take some time, the High Court has decided to introduce e-filing of such cases at a later date.
“After the integration, any person can file any case in the High Court even from government e-seva centres if just scanners alone are available at those centres. E-filing will be extended to district courts too,” an officer said.
The officials clarified that filing of hard copies of case bundles will be entertained in the High Court until the lawyers as well as litigants get conversant with the procedures for e-filing which saves time and cost besides promoting paperless filing.
At present, during the restricted functioning of courts due to the lockdown to fight, the High Court as well as the district courts in Tamil Nadu as well as Puducherry have been entertaining cases filed through e-mail.
“Filing of cases through e-mail is just a temporary measure taken to cope up with the exigency. It has its shortfalls but e-filing of cases is completely different. E-filing will revolutionise the way courts have been functioning all along amidst huge case bundles,” the officer added.
