The Supreme Court of India criticised the Hyderabad Motor Accident Claims Tribunal for issuing handwritten, often illegible orders despite investment in digitalisation. It stressed that the e-Courts project, now in its third phase, requires progress toward paperless courts.
The Supreme Court of India raised concerns about the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal (MACT) in Hyderabad, which has been issuing handwritten order sheets in a recent case.
A Bench comprising Justices Rajesh Bindal and Vijay Bishnoi instructed the Telangana High Court to investigate the lack of computer use at the tribunal located in the City Civil Courts of Hyderabad.
The Supreme Court noted that it had to request a typed copy while reviewing an appeal because the handwritten orders were illegible.
The court remarked,
“This is despite the fact that the Government of India has spent thousands of crores of rupees in computerization of the Courts throughout the country. The e-Courts project was started way back in the year 2007 and we are running into third phase thereof. In that situation, we do not find any justification for the orders of the Tribunal to be handwritten, which otherwise are also not legible.”
Additionally, the court highlighted that the order sheets failed to include the names or UID numbers of the officers involved.
The Bench pointed out,
“Even the name of the officers or their UID numbers have also not been mentioned where they had put their initials on the order sheets. In the absence thereof, either it is impossible to identify the officer or anyone may have to put in extra efforts to find out the same from the records as to who was posted in that Court at a particular time,”
Consequently, the court directed the Chief Justice of the High Court to address this issue and ordered that its findings be communicated to the Chief Justices of other High Courts for necessary corrective actions.
It stated that if computers have already been provided to the tribunals, the High Court should explore why handwritten orders are still in use. If no computers have been supplied, the reasons for this need to be examined, and immediate corrective measures should be implemented.
The Bench emphasized,
“We cannot lose sight of the fact that the entire Court system is moving towards ‘paperless Courts’, which means from bottom to top,”
These comments came in an appeal regarding a 2020 road accident where a 22-year-old sustained severe injuries, resulting in 100% functional disability.
Following the MACT’s decision to award him over Rs.2.72 crore in compensation with interest, the insurer, National Insurance Company Limited, appealed to the High Court.
The appeal was dismissed last year after a company representative pledged to fulfill the decree during execution proceedings.
The Supreme Court has now annulled the previous order and instructed the High Court to re-evaluate the matter based on its merits. In the interim, it has directed the insurer to disburse Rs.1 crore to the claimant.
Senior Advocate Meenakshi Arora, along with advocates Hetu Arora Sethi, Rahul Jain, Sanidhya Kumar, and Kanak Bathwal, represented the petitioner.
Case Title: National Insurance Co. Ltd. vs. Rathlavath Chandulal & Ors