Taking the administration of justice online to bring further efficiency and transparency, while making the process much more adaptable across sections, the Supreme Court on Wednesday directed the Centre to set up e-seva kendras in addition to the help desks at Debts Recovery Tribunals (DRTs) across the country for lawyers and litigants.

The apex court bench comprising Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and Justices PS Narasimha and JB Pardiwala while hearing a plea by Madhya Pradesh High Court Bar Association said the decision to take up e-filing should be replicated by other tribunals, including the high courts.

An SC bench said, “E-filing provides for transparency and efficiency in the administration of justice. It provides for 24x7 access to justice and enforces convenience to lawyers and litigants. The decision to take up e-filing should be replicated by other tribunals including high courts.”

The plea challenged the notification of the Ministry of Finance which amended Rule 3 of the Debts Recovery Tribunals and Debts Recovery Appellate Tribunals Electronic Filing (Amendment) Rules, 2023. As per the amended norms, e-filing of pleadings by applicants before DRT/DRAT is made mandatory without any limit. Earlier, e-filing of pleadings before the DRT/DRAT was only mandatory if the debt to be recovered was Rs. 100 crores or more.

The petitioner argued that the amendment to the rules making e-filing compulsory in all cases irrespective of the valuation of the case was introduced without holding deliberations with all stakeholders. Also, the change was too sudden and litigants were not given enough time to adjust to it. While stating that many DRTs were situated in areas with low internet connectivity, the petitioner argued that technology should be an enabler and not a disabler and that mandatory e-filing would be detrimental to many. In this regard, he asked for exceptions to the Rule to be provided in cases of just and fair cause, for senior citizens, and for female practitioners and clients.

“Why do you presume women will be bad at technology,” asked the bench, adding that female lawyers are more tech-savvy than their male counterparts.

The Court was conscious of the problems highlighted by the petitioner and asked the Centre to set up e-service kendras (digital help desks) with printers and scanners at all DRTs and DRATs.

“Technology is an enabler and facilitator. No citizen should be left behind because of lack of access to technology, least of all, to justice,” said the bench, also comprising Justice PS Narasimha and JB Pardiwala.

The Court directed the Centre to prepare standard operating procedure (SOP) for e-service kendras that would be in line with the e-Committee of the Supreme Court. This exercise was directed to be completed in three months.

Further, the top court directed chairpersons of all DRTs/DRATs to submit reports on a monthly basis initially for a period of six months suggesting whether it needed any technical upgradation as the petition argued that all DRT/DRAT portals do not support e-filing of bulky documents.

In addition, the Court directed the Director General, National Informatics Centre (NIC) to constitute a team to monitor the progress of e-filing at DRTs/DRATs. If the bar associations still faced problems in the filing of cases, they were permitted to submit representations focusing on concrete suggestions to make e-filing more accessible.

Image source: ANI