Summary
A High Court Bar Association challenged under Article 32 the notification of 31 January 2023 making e-filing of pleadings before Debt Recovery Tribunals and Appellate Tribunals mandatory in all cases irrespective of value, seeking continuation of hybrid filing and exceptions for sufficient cause, senior citizens and women. The Supreme Court declined to question mandatory e-filing, which had been introduced gradually with training and help desks, but recognised the digital divide and directed that Bar Associations may make representations on specific difficulties, that tribunal heads report monthly for six months, and that the National Informatics Centre monitor the system, and recommended e-sewa kendras at every tribunal under a standard operating procedure. No general exception for women was granted.
Issues
- Whether mandatory e-filing before Debt Recovery Tribunals and Appellate Tribunals should be relaxed in favour of hybrid filing or exceptions for sufficient cause, senior citizens and women, and what measures are needed to ensure that the digital divide does not impede access to justice.
Provisions considered
- Section 36, Recovery of Debts and Bankruptcy Act, 1993The Union Government's rule-making power under which the Electronic Filing Rules, 2020 were amended on 31 January 2023 to make e-filing mandatory for all applicants. (¶ 3)
- Rule 3 (as amended on 31 January 2023), Debt Recovery Tribunals and Debt Recovery Appellate Tribunals Electronic Filing Rules, 2020Mandatory e-filing introduced in three stages, optional in 2020, compulsory for cases above Rs. 100 crores in 2022 and for all cases in 2023; the Court did not question the need for mandatory e-filing but issued directions to address practical difficulties. (¶¶ 2, 3, 4, 11, 14)
- Article 32, Constitution of IndiaThe petition was disposed of with directions designed to ensure that no segment of citizens is left behind in access to justice through technology. (¶¶ 4, 13, 21, 23)
Held
- E-filing provides transparency and efficiency, round-the-clock access and convenience to lawyers and litigants; its introduction before the tribunals was gradual with stakeholder training, and it would be too late in the day to postulate that e-filing should not be adopted. Other tribunals and courts, including the High Courts, should replicate it in phases so that it eventually becomes mandatory. (¶¶ 11, 12)
- The Court cannot be unmindful of the digital divide; technology is an enabler and no segment of citizens should be left behind in access to justice, and the needs of lawyers without facilities should be met by providing them in court establishments. Bar Associations may submit representations on concrete difficulties to the Department of Financial Services, Chairpersons and Presiding Officers shall report monthly for six months, and the Director General of the National Informatics Centre shall constitute a monitoring team and upgrade the e-filing module. (¶¶ 13, 14, 15)
- In addition to help desks, the Union Government should set up e-sewa kendras at all tribunal centres with computers, scanners and robust connectivity under a standard operating procedure prepared with the National Informatics Centre, in line with the e-Committee's mission; representations and reports must be cognisant of gender-based digital exclusion and help desks may provide a dedicated portal for female litigants, but there is no basis for a general exception for female practitioners and litigants. (¶¶ 16, 18, 20)
Result
Writ petition disposed of with directions: Bar Associations may make representations on e-filing difficulties; tribunal heads to report monthly to the Department of Financial Services for six months; National Informatics Centre to monitor and upgrade the e-filing system; e-sewa kendras recommended at all tribunal centres under a standard operating procedure; the exercise to be completed within three months, without precluding further arrangements for emergent situations; pending applications disposed of.