The Orissa High Court recently revised the Rules of the High Court of Orissa, 1948, to include Chapter XXI-A under Part-V, which introduces the system of ‘digitally signed copies’ of the Court’s orders and judgements.
The chapter’s rules mandate the secretarial staff preparing the order or judgement to digitally sign the soft copy of the order or judgment. The concerned staff must upload the digitally signed copy of the order or judgment on the High Court’s website on the same or the next day after it is signed by the Judge.
Furthermore, upon receipt of an online application for a copy of a pleading or other document in a case filed in the High Court, the Superintendent of the Copying Section or any other staff authorised in this behalf is now required to digitally sign the scanned copy of the required document. Following that, the copy will be sent to the applicant online.
The newly proposed Rule further emphasises that a digitally signed copy of an order, judgement, petition, or other document provided online is treated as a certified copy and can be acted on as such, subject to verification on the High Court’s website.
The procedure for attaching a digital signature and uploading orders/judgments/other documents shall be established in accordance with the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) issued under the Rule from time to time.
The High Court Registry announced the system’s launch, saying, “While legacy records are being digitised in RRDC, digitization of pending records is complete, and every new case, if filed physically, is being immediately digitised. Simultaneously, e-filing is being encouraged by providing lawyers and their clerks with hands-on training.”
It further stated that a digital platform has been developed through which lawyers or litigants can apply for certified copies of orders, judgements, pleadings, and documents and obtain them online, without having to physically attend to the High Court and pay any fees.
“All orders and judgements of the High Court since May 1, 2023 are now available on the website with digital signatures, proving their authenticity. A digital signature is the digital equivalent of a handwritten signature, and it bears the date and exact time of signature, as well as the signatory’s designation,” the Registry stated in a press release.
The legitimacy of the document can be verified on the internet by the lawyers, litigants, and authorities to whom the copies are produced. It was also announced that a brief instructional video regarding the verification procedure would be uploaded on the High Court’s website soon.
This new system supplements the existing system of physical copy delivery. While online applications are now optional for private parties, the new Rules make them essential for the central government, state governments, public sector undertakings, and urban and rural local authorities.
