Delhi HC directs district judges to make list of nature of cases to be digitalised first
New Delhi, July 15 (IANS) The Delhi High Court has directed the principal district and sessions judges to create a comprehensive list of nature of cases or records of district courts that should be given priority for digitalisation.
The court clarified that it is not mandatory to digitise every minor case before disposing of old records.
Justice Dinesh Kumar Sharma said that the Principal District and Sessions Judge (Headquarter), in consultation with other judges and record room officers, should determine the category of cases requiring digitisation and exempt petty cases.
This order was issued in response to an application from the court’s registry seeking clarification on a previous order from January 2017.
In that order, the high court had directed that trial court records should not be destroyed until it was confirmed whether a judgment had been appealed.
If an appeal was pending, the records should be preserved, and even in cases without a response from the appellate court, they should be scanned and saved digitally.
During arguments on the recent application, advocate Rajat Aneja, representing the administrative side of the high court, argued about the issue of accumulating records and requested the court to provide directions for smooth digitisation and record maintenance.
The court’s information technology committee sought clarification on various aspects, including whether the directions applied to civil and criminal cases and whether the digitisation of trial court records with expired preservation periods was mandatory and if there is a need to digitise petty cases like traffic challans.
With the assistance of advocate Aneja and judicial officer Abhilash Malhotra, certain directions were given, extending the earlier directions to cover both criminal and civil matters.
The court specified that records without historical significance and beyond the statutory preservation period may be disposed of according to existing rules
Justice Sharma further stated that the principal district and sessions judge (HQ), in consultation with other judges and the chairman of IT & Digitisation for Delhi District Courts, should create an inclusive list of cases or records that require prioritised digitisation.
The high court also instructed the registry to provide trial court records to the district court when required for the efficient adjudication of cases filed in the high court through appeals or revision petitions and that these directions are to be circulated to all district judges.