TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2023 (4) TMI 757
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....covery Appellate Tribunals (DRATs) Electronic Filing Rules 2020 "2020 Rules" were notified. Originally, the e-filing of pleadings and applications was made optional. On 22 July 2021, a notification was issued by which the e-filing of cases involving a value of Rs 100 crores and above was made mandatory. At a conference of the Chairpersons of DRATs and the Presiding Officers of DRTs on 9 June 2022, it was recommended that e-filing should be made mandatory, irrespective of the amount involved in the proceedings. 3 On 31 January 2023, a notification was issued by the Union government in exercise of powers under Section 36 of the 1993 Act for amending the Electronic Filing Rules so as to make e-filing of pleadings by applicants mandatory. An....
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.... The percentage of e-filed cases to the total filed cases where the suit amount was Rs 50 lakhs or below was 27.46% of OAs filed and 20.63% of SAs filed. The affidavit indicates that mandatory e-filing, besides facilitating compliance with timelines, facilitates 24x7 filing by litigants even from remote places with the help of the internet. The total number of e-filed applications across all DRTs in the country during the period between 1 February 2023 and 2 March 2023 was 10,415. 7 The counter affidavit states that help desks for facilitating stakeholders for hassle free e-filing of cases have been set up at DRTs and DRATs where currently, 90 staff members are working as Technical Assistants and Data Entry Operators for facilitating e-f....
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....ioners and clients. 9 Counsel further submitted that in the event of a software glitch occurring, some alternative modalities should be followed. 10 On the other hand, it has been urged by Mr Shyam Gopal, counsel appearing on behalf of the Union of India, that, as the counter affidavit would indicate, the introduction of mandatory e-filing was not abrupt or hasty. On the contrary, it was preceded by consultations and training programmes which were conducted for the members of the Bar. Moreover, it is urged that implementation was made on a gradual basis in three stages. As regards the availability of infrastructure, it has been submitted that help desks have been provided at all DRTs/DRATs to attend to any glitches or requests for ass....
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.... Court cannot be unmindful of the fact that there is a digital divide in the country and not all citizens have access to the internet or the facilities required for the effective use of technology. Technology is an enabler and a facilitator. Hence, no segment of the citizens should be left behind in the adoption of technology, least of all, in terms of access to justice. The submission of Mr Siddharth R Gupta is borne out by realities at the grass roots in the legal profession. Not all lawyers may have access to the facilities required. Their needs can and should be addressed by providing facilities in court establishments. 14 We are of the view that the grievance which has been portrayed in this proceeding can be addressed at two levels....
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....to be borne in mind relates to the help desks which have been set up at the DRTs/DRATs. 17 Mr Shyam Gopal has adverted to a notice dated 22 February 2023 issued by the DRTs for Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Ernakulam and by the DRAT at Delhi indicating the arrangements which have been made for setting up help desks or, as the case may be, providing technical assistance. 18 In this regard, we would recommend to the Union Government that in addition to setting up held desks, it would be appropriate if e-sewa kendras are set up at all the centres of the DRTs or, as the case may be, DRATs to facilitate e-filing of cases and provide a one-step solution which encompasses all the e-services at the DRTs/DRATs. The e-sewa kendras should hav....
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....men. For example, while 19.4% of men of age 15 years and above could send emails with attached files, only 11.5% of women of age 15 years and above could perform the same task. ii. The National Family Health Survey-5 data National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5) 2019-2021, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Government of India (March 2022) for the period between 2019 to 2021 measured the proportion of men and women (15-49 years of age) who have ever used the internet. The survey reveals that only one in three women in India (33.3%) have ever used the internet, compared to more than half of men (51.2%). The gender divide in rural India is more pronounced, with men (43.4%) being about twice as likely as women (24.6%) to have used the....