RNI No. GOAENG/2002/6410
Reg. No. RNP/GOA/32/2021-2023
Panaji, 27th January, 2023 (Magha 7, 1944) SERIES I No. 43 PUBLISHED BY AUTHORITY
SUPPLEMENT
GOVERNMENT OF GOA
Department of Law & Judiciary
Law (Establishment) Division
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Benches at Nagpur and Aurangabad and High Court of Bombay at Goa, and the District Courts and Tribunals under the control and supervision of the High Court of Bombay.
Notification
14-12-2022-LD(Estt.)/77
The Notification No. Rule/P. 1603/2022 dated 04-01-2023 which have been issued by the High Court of Judicature at Bombay, Appellate Side, is hereby published for general information of the public.
By order and in the name of the Governor
Short title, applicability and commence- ment.— These Rules shall be called "e- Filing Rules of the High Court of Bombay 2022". They shall apply to the High Court of Judicature at Bombay, its Benches at Nagpur and Aurangabad and High Court of Bombay at Goa, and the District Courts and Tribunals under the control and supervision of the High Court of Bombay.
of Goa.
These Rules shall come into force from Amir Y. Parab, Under Secretary (Estt.) Law.
the date of Notification.
Porvorim, 12th January, 2023.
___________
HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY APPELLATE SIDE
—–
Notification
1. Preface.— These Rules shall apply to on-line e-filing and e-filing through Designated Counters and facilities provided for e-filing, including e-Seva Kendras. The rules shall apply to such categories of cases as would be notified by the High Court. These Rules amend and consolidate the existing Rules and Practice Directions.
2. Definitions.—
No. Rule/P. 1603/2022.— The Hon'ble the Chief Justice and the Judges of the High Court of Judicature at Bombay in exercise of powers conferred under Article 225 and 227 of the Constitution of India and all other enabling provisions in that behalf are pleased to make the following rules which shall be applicable to the High Court of Judicature at Bombay, its
2.1 Action: Includes all proceedings instituted in the Court such as suits, criminal complaints, appeals, civil or criminal writ petitions, revision petitions, contempt petitions, execution petitions, OFFICIAL GAZETTE — GOVT. OF GOA SERIES I No. 43 (SUPPLEMENT) 27TH JANUARY, 2023 arbitration petitions, probate cases and interlocutory applications.
2.2 Administrator: Means the Registrar (IT) or an officer appointed by the Chief Justice for administering and dealing with matters connected with or relating to e-filing.
2.3. Bench: Means and includes one or more Judges assigned to adjudicate upon Actions or the presiding officer of the Court or Tribunal as the case may be.
2.4 Physical Filing: Means Actions and
pleadings filed as hard copies.
2.5 Designated Counters: Means and includes those counters which find mention in Appendix-I and those that may be included or excluded from Appendix-I from time to time.
2.6 District Courts: Means and includes the courts established and functioning under the control and supervision of the High Court.
2.7 Electronic Filing (e-filing): Means e-filing as prescribed through the Internet (at the web portal of the Court) and through the internet/intranet at Designated Counters, unless the context requires otherwise.
2.8 Evidence: Means and includes evidence as defined under the Indian Evidence Act, 1872.
2.9 High Court: High Court means the High Court of Judicature at Bombay, its Benches at Nagpur and Aurangabad and High Court of Bombay at Goa, Panaji-Goa.
2.10 Objections: Means and includes deficiencies and errors pointed out by the Registry in relation to the Actions instituted in the Court.
2.11 Opposite Party: Means defendant(s), respondents, judgment debtor(s) and non applicant(s).
2.12 Party: Means appellant(s), plaintiff(s), petitioner(s), complainant(s) and applicant(s).
2.13 Pleadings: Means pleadings filed in support or defence of an Action including affidavits, additional affidavits and supple- mentary affidavits.
2.14 PDF: Means an electronic document
filed in a portable document format.
2. 15 PDF/A: Means an ISO-standardized version of the Portable Document Format (PDF) specialized for the digital preservation of electronic documents.
2.16 Registry: Means the Registry of the
Court.
2.17 Statement of Defence: Means and includes written statements, replies, counter- affidavits and additional or supplementary affidavits.
2.18 Technical failure: Means a failure of the cour t's hardware, sof tware, and/or telecommunications facility which results in the impossibility of submitting a file electronically. Technical failure does not include malfunctioning of the equipment of the person submitting an e-file.
2.19 Third Party: Means and includes any person or entity seeking to become a party or to intervene in an Action.
2.20 Working Day: Means and includes a day when the Registry of the Court is working under the Calendar published or as directed by the Court.
2.21 Tribunal: Means and includes all Tribunals under the control and supervision of the High Court.
3. General Instructions.—
3.1 On-line e-filing shall be made by visiting the prevailing web portal of the Court for the purpose of e-filing.
3.2 Except as provided in these Rules, Actions, whether in fresh, pending or disposed of cases, will be filed electronically by an advocate or litigant in person from their home, office or other remote location in the manner provided in these Rules.
3.3 Any person who is unable to access the e-filing portal would be entitled to make use of the facilities provided at the Designated OFFICIAL GAZETTE — GOVT. OF GOA SERIES I No. 43 (SUPPLEMENT) 27TH JANUARY, 2023 Counters for that purpose upon payment of charges if stipulated.
3.4 Maximum size of the file shall be specified and revised from time to time by issuing practice directions.
4. Steps for Registration.—
4.1 Persons other than Advocates and litigants in person who are already registered on the Court web portal will take the following steps to register themselves.
(i) Advocates:
(a) Should visit the prevailing web
portal to view the form.
(i) For E-filing portal version 2.0
(https://efiling.ecourts.gov.in/)
(ii) For E-filing portal version 3.0
(https://filing.ecourts.gov.in/pdedev)
(b) Click the registration link.
(c) Fill the form with requisite details.
(d) Submit the filled-up form along with a self-attested copy of the Bar Council Registration Certificate or Bar Council I-card (in PDF format only).
(ii) Litigants in person:
(a) Should visit the prevailing web
portal to view the form.
(i) For E-filing portal version 2.0
(https://efiling.ecourts.gov.in/).
(ii) For E-filing portal version 3.0 (https://filing.ecourts.gov.in/pdedev).
(b) Click the registration link.
(c) Fill the form with requisite details.
(d) Submit the filled-up form along with the self-attested copy of any identity document issued by the Government (in PDF format only).
4.2 Litigants-in-person shall submit an affidavit/undertaking that they have not engaged an Advocate in the Action. A litigant in person who subsequently engages an Advocate, shall make an application before the Administrator for transferring the data in respect of the Action to the Advocate's account in. Once the Administrator allows the application, the data in the Action shall be transferred in the user account of the Advocate. The litigant in person will not be in a position to modify the data of the subject Action, without the permission of the Administrator.
4.3 A login ID will be allotted on the next working day if the application is found complete in all respects. The procedure for registration is set out in the prevailing e-filing web portal as per Appendix-II.
5. Frame of Pleadings:
The pleadings should be clear and concise. Parties and third parties should set forth their claims/averments in separate paragraphs. The statement of truth/affidavit of the concerned person must bear their signature. Opposite parties should also file their replies under sequentially numbered paragraphs and headings (such as Preliminary Objections and Objections on Merits).
Wherever verification and attestation under oath is done before Notary Public, the scanned page shall be uploaded keeping the original in custody.
Citations shall not form part of the pleadings or annexure, unless citation is relevant subject matter of the lis. Citations shall be separately filed as and when necessary.
Scrutiny and compliance with objections in any pleading e-filing shall only be by online mode only. If interaction is inevitable in such cases virtual counters with video linkage facility shall be used as and when activated.
6. Formatting:
6.1 All the original typed text material including notice of motion, memorandum of parties, main petition or appeal, interlocutory application(s), reply, status report, affidavit, documents, will be prepared electronically using the following formatting:
Style:
• Paper size: A-4
• Top Margin: 1.5"
• Bottom Margin: 1.5" OFFICIAL GAZETTE — GOVT. OF GOA SERIES I No. 43 (SUPPLEMENT) 27TH JANUARY, 2023 • Left Margin: 1.75"
• Right Margin: 1.0"
• Alignment: Justified
• Font: Times New Roman
• Font size: 14
• Line spacing: 1.5
• If any document is typed in a local language in Trial Courts, it must be prepared using xxx Unicode Font 14
The High Court may issue notification/ /circular/practice note defining sequence and chronology of documents and manner of pagination, manner of filing amendment for e-filing purposes for District Court and High Court.
6.2 The document should be converted into Optical Character Recognition (OCR) searchable Portable Document Format (PDF) or PDF/A using any PDF converter or in-built PDF conversion plug-in provided in the software. PDF/A is the preferred format.
6.3 A document which is not a text document and has to be enclosed with the Action, should be scanned using an image resolution of 300 DPI (Dots Per Inch) in OCR searchable mode and saved as a PDF document. The procedure for converting a document into an OCR searchable PDF as mentioned above and as required in clause 8.1 is set out in Appendix – III.
7.3 A litigant in person or advocate who does not possess a digital signature issued by the competent authority can authenticate e-filed documents by e-Sign based on Aadhaar authentication.
8. Dos and Don't's.—
8.1 The text documents and scanned documents set out in clauses 6.3 and 7.1 should be merged as a single OCR searchable PDF file and should be book-marked as per the Master Index, duly approved by the Registry. The procedure in this behalf is set out in Appendix-V.
8.2 The merged documents should be uploaded at the time of on-line e-filing. Screenshots of the manner of accessing the on-line e-filing portal and for the filing of the main case and documents including written statements, replies, replications, rejoinders, affidavits and evidence in a pending case are set out in Appendix-I.
8.3 Once e-filing is accepted, the filing or registration number shall be notified to the Advocate or litigant in person.
7. Digital Signatures.—
7.1 The PDF document shall be digitally signed either by the parties and/or by their Advocate. The digital signatures shall be appended on such places on the PDF document as prescribed under the extant rules. If neither the party nor the Advocate who has been engaged possess a digital signature, a print out of the Action shall be physically signed by the party concerned and/or their Advocate in accordance with rules and it shall thereafter be scanned and uploaded.
7.2 A list of recognized Digital Signature Providers and the procedure involved in appending single or multiple signatures is set out in Appendix – IV.
8.4 In so far as evidence in the form of an electronic record, such as audio and/or video files, which are to be filed in the High Court as set out in APPENDIX –VII shall be followed. As and when this facility is made available for District Courts, the procedure to be followed will be notified by the Administrator.
8.5 Special Characters are not allowed while e-filing Memo of Parties and Advocate remarks.
8.6 Document Binary File Name Standards
The following special characters are not
allowed in a file name:
• A quotation mark (")
• A number sign/Pound (#)
• Per cent (%)
• Ampersand (&)
• Asterisk (*)
• Colon (:) OFFICIAL GAZETTE — GOVT. OF GOA SERIES I No. 43 (SUPPLEMENT) 27TH JANUARY, 2023 • Angle brackets (less than, greater than)
(<>)
• A question mark (?)
• Backslash (\)
• Forward slash (/)
• Braces (left and right) ({ })
• Pipe (|)
• A tilde (~)
• The period (.) character used consecutively in the middle of the file name or at the beginning or end of the file name.
File names should not exceed 45 characters in length, including spaces. Single space must be counted as one character each.
8.7 On-line e-filing shall not be watermarked or encr ypted. The e-filed documents shall not contain any virus, malware, spam-ware, trojan horse or the like. All the e-filed documents shall be legible and free of markings, track changes or annotations.
8.8 As far as possible the PDF file may be flattened free of embedded images, videos, GIF, PDF form fields and Java script elements.
10.2 The registry may make use of virtual counters with video linkage for quick verification any scanned or typed document e-filed cases.
10.3 The signed vakalatnama, signed and notarized/attested affidavit and any other document whose authenticity is likely to be questioned should be preserved, at least, for two years till after the final disposal of the Action. Final disposal shall include disposal of the Action by the superior appellate court.
10.4 Notwithstanding anything above, the following documents will have to be preserved permanently:—
(a) A Negotiable Instrument (other than a cheque) as defined in Section 13 of The Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881 (26 of 1881).
(b) A Power-of-Attorney as defined in section 1A of the Powers-of-Attorney Act, 1882 (7 of 1882).
(c) A Deed as defined in Section 3 of The
Indian Trusts Act, 1882 (2 of 1882).
9. Payment of Court Fees/Other Charges.—
Court fee and other charges can be paid either electronically by purchase on the on- line facility provided by the authorised agency or from the Designated Counters provided for the purpose in the High Court and District Courts or from any authorized court fee vendor. The Transaction ID provided upon payment of court fee and other charges is required to be entered in the appropriate field at the time of on-line e-filing.
10. Retention of Originals.—
(d) A Will as defined in Clause (h) of Section 2 of The Indian Succession Act, 1925 (39 of 1925) including any other testamentary disposition by whatever name called.
(e) Any contract for the sale or conveyance of immovable property or any interest in such property.
(f) Any other document as may be
directed by the Bench.
10.5 The responsibility of producing the originals and proving their genuineness shall be of the party that has electronically filed scanned copies of the document.
11. Access to the Electronic Data of the
Action.—
10.1 Originals of the documents, certified copies that are scanned and digitally signed by the Registrant(s) at the time of e-filing should be preser ved for production or inspection as may be required by a Registrant, Registry or Bench for verification or removal of doubts.
Free of cost access will be available to authorized person(s) to data e-filed by any of the parties to the specific Action, as is presently being provided in pending Actions.
OFFICIAL GAZETTE — GOVT. OF GOA SERIES I No. 43 (SUPPLEMENT) 27TH JANUARY, 2023This facility shall be in addition to the procedure of obtaining certified copies.
required, soft copies shall be printed at Court
effecting service whereupon addressee court
shall affix its seal on the notice/writ so 12. Exemption from e-filing.—
Exemption from on-line e-filing of the entire pleading or a part of the pleadings and/or documents may be permitted by the Bench upon an application being made for that purpose in the following circumstances:
(i) where on-line e-filing is for reasons
set out in the application not feasible; or
(ii) where there are concerns about confidentiality and protection of privacy; or
(iii) where the document cannot be scanned or filed electronically because of its size, shape or condition; or
(iv) where the on-line e-filing portal is either inaccessible or not available for some reason; and/or
(v) for a just and sufficient cause.
received and shall serve copies on the
respondents/noticees. Copy of report of
service shall be uploaded as reply to the
e-mail forwarding notices/writs which, unless
required, shall be treated as sufficient proof
of service without requirement of physically
signed hard copy of report of service.
14. Computation of Time.—
14.1 Wherever limitation/time limits apply,
it will be the responsibility of the party
concerned to ensure that the filing is carried
out well before the cut-off date and time. The
date of e-filing will be taken as that date when
the Action is electronically received in the
Registry within the prescribed time on any
working day. For computing the time at which
e-filing is made, Indian Standard Time (IST)
will apply.
13. Service of Electronic Documents.—
In addition to the prescribed mode of service, notices, documents, pleadings that are filed electronically may also be served through the designated e-mail IDs of Registry officials to the e-mail address of the advocates or parties, if available. E-mail IDs of Registry officials will be published on the Court website to enable the recipients to verify the source of the e-mail.
In all cases if the respondent is not registered in CIS and no email ID is disclosed, a party cannot be compelled to accept service in digitised form. In such case, the Registrant shall serve the respondent with physical copies of the pleadings in addition to offering a soft copy.
The registry may send soft copies of petition from the dedicated mail address along with copy of notice/writ to the Court below with verification mechanism to ensure integrity of the dispatched soft copies. If 14.2 E-filing through Designated Counters
will be permissible up to 16.00 hours on any
court working day. On-line e-filing carried out
after working hours on any day, will be
treated as the date which follows the actual
filing date provided it is a court working day.
Actions filed on a day declared as gazetted
holiday or on a day when the court is closed,
will be regarded as having been filed on the
next working day. For the computation of
limitation, on-line e-filing shall be subject to
the same legal regime as applicable to
physical filing, save and except as provided
herein above.
14.3 The facility for on-line e-filing through
the web portal shall be available during all
twenty-four hours of each day, subject to
breakdown, server downtime, system
maintenance or such other exigencies. Where
on-line e-filing is not possible for any of the
reasons set out above, parties can either
approach the Designated Counters for e-filing OFFICIAL GAZETTE — GOVT. OF GOA SERIES I No. 43 (SUPPLEMENT) 27TH JANUARY, 2023 during working hours on court working days
or take recourse to physical filing. No
exemption from limitation shall be permitted
on the ground of a failure of the web based
on-line e-filing facility.
14.4 Provisions for limitation governing on-
line e-filing will be the same as those
applicable to physical filing. The period of
limitation for such actions will commence
from the date when e-filing is made as per
the procedure prescribed in these Rules.
filings available on the servers located in the
Court may be maintained at different
geographical locations, as decided from time
to time by the High Court/e-Committee.
Provided for marking electronic records as
exhibits in the course of the trial, the protocol
set out in Appendix VIII shall be followed
qua the Actions instituted in the High Court.
As regards the District Court, as and when
the application is made available, the relevant
procedure to be followed shall be notified by
the Administrator. However, the mere
15. Procedure for Filing Caveat.—
All caveats can be filed on-line. The
procedure for this purpose is set out in
Appendix-VI.
assigning of a unique number to the
electronic record will not amount to the
authentication or proof of such electronic
record. Nothing in these rules shall be
construed as dispensing with the proof of the
16. Hard Copies of Pleadings and Docu-
electronic record as required under the law.
ments filed Electronically.—
Advocates, as well as parties, may print
hard copies of all pleadings and documents
filed electronically for their use in the court
or elsewhere. The Registry will wherever
required prepare hard copies for official use.
17. These Rules are not in derogation to
the provisions of any substantive or
procedural law applicable for disposal of
proceedings by the courts.
19.1 Residuary provisions.—
19.1 The e-filing made by an Advocate/
/litigant in person will be rejected if they do
not follow the protocol mandated by these
Rules or practice directions.
19.2 Subject to such further directions as
may be issued, it would not be obligatory on
the part of the opposite party to accept
pleadings and documents by email. In such
an eventuality, hard copies of pleadings and
18. Storage and Retrieval of e-Filed
documents will have to be provided to the
Documents and Pleadings.—
E-filings will be stored on an exclusive
server maintained under the control and
directions of the Court. Each such filing will
be separately labelled and encrypted for
facilitate easy identification and retrieval. The
security of such filings will be ensured.
Access to e-filings would be restricted in the
manner provided herein above and as may
be notified from time to time. For continuity
of operations in case of disaster, natural
calamity or breakdown, a mirror image of e- opposite party. In such circumstances, the
plaintiff/petitioner can be called upon to
deposit the charges calculated on the basis
of the number of pages per defendant/
/respondent which are required to be
photocopied. This facility will be provided by
the Registry on a written request being made
by the defendant(s)/respondent(s).
19.3 The Registry will communicate the
objections, if any, regarding the cases filed
by email/SMS/web hosting to the concerned
Advocate/litigant in person. Af ter the OFFICIAL GAZETTE — GOVT. OF GOA SERIES I No. 43 (SUPPLEMENT) 27TH JANUARY, 2023 objections are cleared the case will be processed for listing and the Advocate/litigant in person will be informed including by email/SMS.
20. General Caution.—
Email is not a secure medium of communication. Any communication transmitted by email can be intercepted or read by a third party. An Advocate or litigant in person seeking to transmit confidential or sensitive document/material, shall approach the Registry for requisite assistance/advice.
21. The Chief Justice may issue practice directions as warranted from time to time in respect of the Rules.
Appendices
| APPENDIX – I Screenshots showing the procedure for accessing the on-line portal, electronic filing of documents and list of Designated Counters. |
| APPENDIX – II Screenshots showing the procedure for registration. |
| APPENDIX – III Screenshots showing the procedure for converting a document into an OCR searchable PDF. |
| APPENDIX – IV Screenshots showing the procedure for appending single or multiple digital signatures. |
| APPENDIX – V Screenshots showing the procedure for book-marking. |
| APPENDIX – VI Screenshots showing the procedure for filing Caveat. |
| APPENDIX – VII Procedure for filing of all evidence in the form of an electronic record, such as audio and/or video files, etc. |
| APPENDIX – VIII Protocol for marking of electronic records as exhibits in the course of trial. |
HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE
AT BOMBAY
R. N. Joshi,
Date: 4th January, 2023.
Registrar General.
OFFICIAL GAZETTE — GOVT. OF GOA SERIES I No. 43 (SUPPLEMENT) 27TH JANUARY, 2023 OFFICIAL GAZETTE — GOVT. OF GOA SERIES I No. 43 (SUPPLEMENT) 27TH JANUARY, 2023HOME E-FILE CALENDAR REPORT ASSISTANCE
OFFICIAL GAZETTE — GOVT. OF GOA SERIES I No. 43 (SUPPLEMENT) 27TH JANUARY, 2023 OFFICIAL GAZETTE — GOVT. OF GOA SERIES I No. 43 (SUPPLEMENT) 27TH JANUARY, 2023 OFFICIAL GAZETTE — GOVT. OF GOA SERIES I No. 43 (SUPPLEMENT) 27TH JANUARY, 2023 OFFICIAL GAZETTE — GOVT. OF GOA SERIES I No. 43 (SUPPLEMENT) 27TH JANUARY, 2023 OFFICIAL GAZETTE — GOVT. OF GOA SERIES I No. 43 (SUPPLEMENT) 27TH JANUARY, 2023 OFFICIAL GAZETTE — GOVT. OF GOA SERIES I No. 43 (SUPPLEMENT) 27TH JANUARY, 2023 OFFICIAL GAZETTE — GOVT. OF GOA SERIES I No. 43 (SUPPLEMENT) 27TH JANUARY, 2023 OFFICIAL GAZETTE — GOVT. OF GOA SERIES I No. 43 (SUPPLEMENT) 27TH JANUARY, 2023 OFFICIAL GAZETTE — GOVT. OF GOA SERIES I No. 43 (SUPPLEMENT) 27TH JANUARY, 2023 OFFICIAL GAZETTE — GOVT. OF GOA SERIES I No. 43 (SUPPLEMENT) 27TH JANUARY, 2023 OFFICIAL GAZETTE — GOVT. OF GOA SERIES I No. 43 (SUPPLEMENT) 27TH JANUARY, 2023 OFFICIAL GAZETTE — GOVT. OF GOA SERIES I No. 43 (SUPPLEMENT) 27TH JANUARY, 2023 OFFICIAL GAZETTE — GOVT. OF GOA SERIES I No. 43 (SUPPLEMENT) 27TH JANUARY, 2023 OFFICIAL GAZETTE — GOVT. OF GOA SERIES I No. 43 (SUPPLEMENT) 27TH JANUARY, 2023 OFFICIAL GAZETTE — GOVT. OF GOA SERIES I No. 43 (SUPPLEMENT) 27TH JANUARY, 2023 OFFICIAL GAZETTE — GOVT. OF GOA SERIES I No. 43 (SUPPLEMENT) 27TH JANUARY, 2023 OFFICIAL GAZETTE — GOVT. OF GOA SERIES I No. 43 (SUPPLEMENT) 27TH JANUARY, 2023 OFFICIAL GAZETTE — GOVT. OF GOA SERIES I No. 43 (SUPPLEMENT) 27TH JANUARY, 2023 OFFICIAL GAZETTE — GOVT. OF GOA SERIES I No. 43 (SUPPLEMENT) 27TH JANUARY, 2023 OFFICIAL GAZETTE — GOVT. OF GOA SERIES I No. 43 (SUPPLEMENT) 27TH JANUARY, 2023 OFFICIAL GAZETTE — GOVT. OF GOA SERIES I No. 43 (SUPPLEMENT) 27TH JANUARY, 2023 OFFICIAL GAZETTE — GOVT. OF GOA SERIES I No. 43 (SUPPLEMENT) 27TH JANUARY, 2023 OFFICIAL GAZETTE — GOVT. OF GOA SERIES I No. 43 (SUPPLEMENT) 27TH JANUARY, 2023 OFFICIAL GAZETTE — GOVT. OF GOA SERIES I No. 43 (SUPPLEMENT) 27TH JANUARY, 2023 OFFICIAL GAZETTE — GOVT. OF GOA SERIES I No. 43 (SUPPLEMENT) 27TH JANUARY, 2023 OFFICIAL GAZETTE — GOVT. OF GOA SERIES I No. 43 (SUPPLEMENT) 27TH JANUARY, 2023 OFFICIAL GAZETTE — GOVT. OF GOA SERIES I No. 43 (SUPPLEMENT) 27TH JANUARY, 2023 OFFICIAL GAZETTE — GOVT. OF GOA SERIES I No. 43 (SUPPLEMENT) 27TH JANUARY, 2023 OFFICIAL GAZETTE — GOVT. OF GOA SERIES I No. 43 (SUPPLEMENT) 27TH JANUARY, 2023 OFFICIAL GAZETTE — GOVT. OF GOA SERIES I No. 43 (SUPPLEMENT) 27TH JANUARY, 2023 OFFICIAL GAZETTE — GOVT. OF GOA SERIES I No. 43 (SUPPLEMENT) 27TH JANUARY, 2023 OFFICIAL GAZETTE — GOVT. OF GOA SERIES I No. 43 (SUPPLEMENT) 27TH JANUARY, 2023 OFFICIAL GAZETTE — GOVT. OF GOA SERIES I No. 43 (SUPPLEMENT) 27TH JANUARY, 2023 OFFICIAL GAZETTE — GOVT. OF GOA SERIES I No. 43 (SUPPLEMENT) 27TH JANUARY, 2023 OFFICIAL GAZETTE — GOVT. OF GOA SERIES I No. 43 (SUPPLEMENT) 27TH JANUARY, 2023 OFFICIAL GAZETTE — GOVT. OF GOA SERIES I No. 43 (SUPPLEMENT) 27TH JANUARY, 2023 OFFICIAL GAZETTE — GOVT. OF GOA SERIES I No. 43 (SUPPLEMENT) 27TH JANUARY, 2023 OFFICIAL GAZETTE — GOVT. OF GOA SERIES I No. 43 (SUPPLEMENT) 27TH JANUARY, 2023APPENDIX -VII
1. Any information contained in an electronic record that is sought to be produced in an electronic form and/or intended to be proved as per law shall be filed only through Designated Counters. Any party found dumping irrelevant data/electronic records shall be liable for appropriate action and consequences.
2. Where the electronic record is contained in an electronic device it shall, before being produced, be imaged for being produced on to a removable media.
3. The electronic record shall be accompanied by a memo [See Form A below]. The details and columns shall be filled up to the extent the information is available. Where the Operating System and software required to read/view/access the electronic record is unavailable, it shall be provided by the party producing the electronic record in a separate storage media.
4. Upon the receipt of the electronic record, the hash value thereof shall be verified by the Registry and the electronic record shall be transferred forthwith to the server of the Court following the protocol set out as under:
• Image of the electronic record shall be received only by the authorized personnel.
• Image of the electronic record shall be accompanied by a memo (Form A) by the party tendering it.
• There shall be a dedicated server for receipt and storage of electronic records with clearly specified access rights.
• A standardized procedure, as reviewed and updated from time to time, shall be followed for the verification of the details mentioned in the memo accompanying the electronic record.
• The file structure of the electronic record based on the case number and the unique reference number shall be generated through the software. For example, Case Number Unique Reference Number of the Electronic Record.
• An acknowledgement depicting the unique reference number assigned to the electronic record shall be given to the party tendering the electronic record.
• No electronic record in auto-erase mode shall be received. Every electronic record will be preserved in read-only mode.
• A backup shall be created simultaneously of each electronic record after assignment of the unique reference number and the backup shall be stored at a separate location.
• Logs shall be maintained for all actions and
the entire process shall be automated.
5. Where confidentiality is sought in respect of the whole or any part of the electronic record, directions may be sought from the Court concerned.
6. The extant rules (of the Court concerned) regarding retention and production of original documents will apply mutatis mutandis to electronic records produced in terms of these rules.
7. Upon verification and transfer, a unique number will be assigned to the electronic record by the Registry. Such a unique number shall be made available to the person tendering such electronic record.
8. After a unique number is assigned, the storage media will be returned to the party/counsel concerned.
9. A separate register in the prescribed format shall be maintained in every Court or Court complex as the case may be, of the electronic records received, verified and transferred to the server.
10. Till such time the electronic record is transferred to the server and returned to the person tendering it, the storage device containing the electronic record should be placed in antistatic and magnetic proof or another such appropriate envelope, to be provided by the party. Such envelope will be appropriately labelled, by the party with the details of the case and the electronic record in the manner indicated below:
• The storage media containing the electronic record will be tendered in an appropriate envelope or cover.
• The envelope or cover should be free of dust, grease and chemical pollutants and kept in a sterile environment.
• As far as possible:
OFFICIAL GAZETTE — GOVT. OF GOA SERIES I No. 43 (SUPPLEMENT) 27TH JANUARY, 2023o The appropriate size of the envelope would be 6" x 6" for pen drives and memory cards; 7" x 10" for CD, DVD and 8" x 10" for hard disks.
o Electronic record should always be packed in anti-static packing and magnetic proof. Only paper or cardboard should be used with a thin water/dustproof plastic layer on the outside of the envelope.
o A master envelope may be used to hold multiple disks (packed in separate hard plastic cases) if necessary.
• The Label affixed thereupon, should necessarily include the case details, type, make and Sr. No. of the electronic storage media along with the name of the party or the person tendering it.
Such envelope should be kept in a sterile environment. After the electronic record is transferred as per the protocol hereinabove, the envelope will be returned along with the storage media. In any event, the storage media and the envelope will not be retained beyond one week, unless otherwise ordered by the Court.
11. The Registry shall maintain logs documenting all processes and protocols for electronic records created in the normal course of business.
12. The court concerned will display on the website the list of the operating systems and the softwares available in the court system. Guidance notes will be uploaded on the websites of the High Court and District Courts.
13. Only authorized personnel shall have access to electronic records.
14. These rules/guidelines do not deal with the destruction of electronic records or devices which have not been collected under clause 11. These will be governed by the rules framed by the Court concerned for that purpose, as the case may be.
15. These rules will apply also to the production of electronic records during the cross-examination of a witness in the course of the trial.
FORM A
MEMO TO BE ATTACHED TO THE ELECTRONIC RECORD
Name of the Court – Case No. –
Cause Title of the Case –
| The party producing the electronic record and name of person tendering it | |
| Description (Brand name, Serial number, etc.), if any, of storage media (whether CD/DVD/Pen Drive etc.) | |
| Operating System and Software/Application required to view/read the electronic record | |
| Number of files and size of each as contained in the storage media | |
| Duration of each file in HH:MM:SS (in case of audio/video file) | |
| The date on which data was stored or copied on said storage media (DD:MM:YY) | |
| Name of person/agency, if any, which extracted and transferred Electronic Record | |
| Hash Function used (SHA-2/MD5 and/or any other media notified from time to time) and software used to generate the hash value | |
| Hash Value | |
| Description of the device from which such electronic record was extracted and transferred (Brand name/Serial number/ /IMEI number, etc.) | |
Any other particulars
Date -
Party (Name & Signature) -
Place -
Counsel (Name & Signature)
| Date of receipt (with time): | |
| If the record is produced in sealed cover from an agency, description of seal: | |
| Date of Transfer to the server (with time): | |
| Reasons for delay in transfer (if any): | |
| Unique Document ID No. (to be filled by the Registry): | |
| Verified and transferred by: (Name, designation, signature) |
RETURN OF STORAGE MEDIA
Date of return of the storage media after the transfer of the electronic record to the server
Name and signature (with date) of party/counsel to whom returned
APPENDIX –VIII
PROTOCOL TO BE FOLLOWED FOR THE MARKING OF ELECTRONIC RECORDS AS EXHIBITS DURING TRIAL
1. Image of the electronic record shall be retrieved from the server of the Court during the stage of trial after verifying its authenticity with reference to its hash value and metadata.
2. Where an electronic record is printable, its print out shall be marked as an exhibit as per applicable rules and practices. This print out so marked as an exhibit be scanned, electronically signed by the Judge and uploaded on to the Court server as the exhibited electronic record.
3. Where the image of the electronic record is in the form of an audio recording of a conversation, the parties concerned shall produce transcripts of the recorded conversation. The transcripts must bear all material particulars including the date, time and duration of the recordings, the mobile phone numbers with IMEI numbers of the handsets used and the names of the purported conversationalists. The audio recording shall be played in the Court. The matching transcript of such audio recording will be marked as an exhibit as per applicable rules and practices. The exhibited transcript of the audio recording will be scanned, electronically signed by the Judge and uploaded on to the Court server as the exhibited electronic record.
4. Where the image of the electronic record is in the form of an audio recording of a music clip, tune, etc. The audio file may be accessed with the help of prescribed 'audio file visualiser' software for viewing and analysing the contents of music audio files; for viewing their waveforms, audio visualisations such as spectrogram views, with interactive adjustment of display parameters. The relevant portion(s) of the audio data may be annotated by adding labelled time points and defining segments, point values, curves, overlay annotations on top of one another with aligned scales, and overlay annotations on top of waveform or spectrogram views, etc.;
5. Where the image of the electronic record is in the form of a video recording, the same shall be played in the Court. The proceeding of the Court in which the video record is played, statement of the witness including cross examination in respect of any part of the video record shall be video recorded to form part of the record of the trial. This video recorded deposition of the witness be treated as an exhibit. The Court in its order sheet must record in detail the persons identified by the witness and any other material aspect of the deposition/cross-examination concerning all/any part of the video record played in the Court. Time frame in the video be also mentioned in the order, wherever required.
OFFICIAL GAZETTE — GOVT. OF GOA SERIES I No. 43 (SUPPLEMENT) 27TH JANUARY, 2023HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY APPELLATE SIDE
Notification
Rule/P. 1603/2022
The Hon'ble the Chief Justice and the Judges of the High Court of Judicature at Bombay in exercise of powers conferred under Article 225 and 227 of the Constitution of India and all other enabling provisions, are pleased to make the following rules:—
vii. "Designated Video Conferencing Software" means software provided by the High Court from time to time to conduct video conferencing.
viii. "Exceptional circumstances" include illustratively a pandemic, natural calamities, circumstances involving law and order and matters relating to the safety of the accused and witnesses.
Chapter I – Preliminary
1. These Rules shall be called the "High Court of Bombay Rules for Video Conferencing for Courts 2022".
(i) These Rules shall apply to such Courts or proceedings or classes of Courts or proceedings and on and from such date as the High Court may notify in this behalf.
2. Definitions.— In these Rules, unless the
context otherwise requires:
i. "Advocate" means and includes an advocate entered in any roll maintained under the provisions of the Advocates Act, 1961 and shall also include government pleaders/advocates and officers of the department of prosecution.
ii. "Commissioner" means a person appointed as commissioner under the provisions of Code of Civil Procedure, 1908, or the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, or any other law in force.
iii. "Coordinator" means a person
nominated as coordinator under Rule 5.
iv. "Court" includes a physical Court and
a virtual Court or tribunal.
v. "Court Point" means the Courtroom or one or more places where the Court is physically convened, or the place where a Commissioner or an inquiring officer holds proceedings pursuant to the directions of the Court.
vi. "Court User" means a user participating in Court proceedings through video conferencing at a Court Point.
ix. "Live Link" means and includes a live television link, audio-video electronic means or other arrangements whereby a witness, a required person or any other person permitted to remain present, while physically absent from the Courtroom is nevertheless vir tually present in the Courtroom by remote communication using technology to give evidence and be cross- examined.
x. "Remote Point" is a place where any person or persons are required to be present or appear through a video link.
xi. "Remote User" means a user participating in Court proceedings through video conferencing at a Remote Point.
xii. "Required Person" includes:
a. the person who is to be examined;
or
b. the person in whose presence certain proceedings are to be recorded or conducted; or
c. an Advocate or a party in person who intends to examine a witness; or
d. any person who is required to make
submissions before the Court; or
e. any other person who is permitted by the Court to appear through video conferencing.
xiii. "Rules" shall mean these Rules for Video Conferencing for Courts and any reference to a Rule, Sub-Rule or Schedule shall be a reference to a Rule, Sub-Rule or Schedule of these Rules.
OFFICIAL GAZETTE — GOVT. OF GOA SERIES I No. 43 (SUPPLEMENT) 27TH JANUARY, 2023Chapter II - General Principles
3. General Principles Governing Video
Conferencing
person concerned shall furnish the following personal details such as, name, parentage, telephone number, permanent address and temporary address if any.
4. Facilities recommended for Video
Conferencing
i. Video conferencing facilities may be used at all stages of judicial proceedings conducted by the Court.
ii. All proceedings conducted by a Court by way of video conferencing shall be judicial proceedings and all the courtesies and protocols applicable to a physical Court shall apply to these virtual proceedings. The protocol provided in Schedule I shall be adhered to for proceedings conducted by way of video conferencing.
iii. All relevant statutory provisions applicable to judicial proceedings including provisions of the Code of Civil Procedure, Code of Criminal Procedure, Contempt of Courts Act, 1971, Indian Evidence Act, 1872 (abbreviated hereafter as the Evidence Act), Information Technology Act, 2000 (abbreviated hereafter as the IT Act) and relevant State Acts and Rules and amendments shall apply to proceedings conducted by video conferencing.
The following equipment is recommended for conducting proceedings by video conferencing at the Court Point and the Remote Point:
i. Desktop, laptop, mobile devices
connected to the internet and printer;
ii. Device ensuring uninterrupted power
supply;
iii. Camera;
iv. Microphones and speakers;
v. Display unit;
vi. Document visualizer;
vii. Provision of a firewall;
viii. Adequate seating arrangements
ensuring privacy;
ix. Adequate lighting; and
x. Availability of a quiet and secure space.
5. Preparatory Arrangements
iv. Subject to maintaining independence, impartiality and credibility of judicial proceedings, and subject to such directions as the High Court may issue, Courts may adopt such technological advances as may become available from
time to time.
v. The Rules as applicable to a Court shall mutatis mutandis apply to a Commissioner appointed by the Court to record evidence and to an inquiry officer conducting an inquiry.
vi. There shall be no unauthorised recording of the proceedings by any person or entity.
vii. The person defined in Rule 2(xii) shall provide identity proof as recognised by the Government of India/State Government/ Union Territory to the Court point coordinator via personal email. In case identity proof is not readily available, the 5.1 There shall be a Coordinator both at the Court Point and at the Remote Point from which any Required Person is to be examined or heard. However, Coordinator may be required at the Remote Point only when a witness or a person accused of an offence is to be examined.
5.2 In the civil and criminal Courts falling within the purview of the district judiciary, persons nominated by the High Court or the concerned District Judge, shall perform the functions of Coordinators at the Court Point as well as the Remote Point as provided in Rule 5.3.
5.3 The Coordinator at the Remote Point
may be any of the following:
OFFICIAL GAZETTE — GOVT. OF GOA SERIES I No. 43 (SUPPLEMENT) 27TH JANUARY, 2023Sub Where the Advocate or Required The Remote Point Coordinator shall be Rule Person is at the following Remote
Point
5.3.1 Overseas An official of an Indian Consulate/the relevant
Indian Embassy/the relevant High Commission of India. In criminal cases Guidelines on Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs shall be followed to the extent applicable.
5.3.2 Court of another State or Union Any authorized official nominated by the concerned Territory within the Territory of District Judge. India
5.3.3 Mediation Centre or office of District Any authorized person official nominated by the Legal Services Authority (including Chairperson or Secretary of the concerned District Taluka Legal Services Committee) Legal Services Authority.
5.3.4 Jail or prison The concerned Jail Superintendent or Officer in-
charge of the prison.
5.3.5 Hospitals administered by the Medical Superintendent or an official authorized Central Government, the State by them or the person in charge of the said Government or local bodies hospital.
5.3.6 Observation Home, Special Home, The Superintendent or Officer in-charge of that Children's Home, Shelter Home, or child facility or an official authorized by them. any institution referred to as a child facility (collectively referred to as child facilities) and where the Required Person is a juvenile or a child or a person who is an inmate of such child facility.
5.3.7 Women's Rescue Homes, Protection The Superintendent or Officers In-charge of the Homes, Shelter Homes, Nari Niketans women's facility or an official authorized by them. or any institution referred to as a women's facility (collectively referred to as women's facilities).
5.3.8 In custody, care or employment of The Superintendent or Officers in-charge of the any other government office, institutional facility or an official authorized by organization or institution (collectively them. referred to as institutional facilities).
5.3.9 Forensic Science Lab The Administrative officer in-charge or their
nominee.
5.3.10 In case of any other location The concerned Court may appoint any person
deemed fit and proper who is ready and willing to render their services as a Coordinator to ensure that the proceedings are conducted in a fair, impartial and independent manner and according to the directions issued by the Court in that behalf.
OFFICIAL GAZETTE — GOVT. OF GOA SERIES I No. 43 (SUPPLEMENT) 27TH JANUARY, 20235.4 Notwithstanding the provisions of Clause 5.3.1, where witness examination is to take place in a criminal case of a person located outside the country, the provisions of the "Comprehensive Guidelines for investigation abroad and issue of Letters Rogatory (LRs)/Mutual Legal Assistance (MLA) Request and Ser vice of Summons/Notices/Judicial documents in respect of Criminal Matters" (available at http://164.100.117.97/ W r i t e R e a d D a t a / u s e r f i l e s / I S I I _ ComprehensiveGuidelinesMutualLegal Assistance_17122019.pdf) will be followed to the extent they compor t with the provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure and the Evidence Act. Furthermore, before the Court employs its discretion to carry out witness examination via video conference, it will obtain the consent of the accused.
5.5 Where a person to be served or examined in a criminal matter is residing abroad, the provisions of the "Comprehensive Guidelines for investigation abroad and issue of Letters Rogatory (LRs)/Mutual Legal Assistance (MLA) Request and Service of Summons/ Notices/ Judicial documents in respect of Criminal Matters" as amended from time to time shall be followed to the extent they comply with the provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure and the Evidence Act.
5.6 When a Required Person is at any of the Remote Points mentioned in Sub Rules 5.3 and video conferencing facilities are not available at any of these places the concerned Court will formally request the District Judge, in whose jurisdiction the Remote Point is situated to appoint a Coordinator for and to provide a video conferencing facility from proximate and suitable Court premises.
5.7 The Coordinators at both the Court Point and Remote Point shall ensure that the recommended requirements set out in Rule 4 are complied with, so that the proceedings are conducted seamlessly.
5.8 The Coordinator at the Remote Point
shall ensure that:
5.8.1 All Advocates and/or Required Persons scheduled to appear in a particular proceeding are ready at the Remote Point designated for video conferencing at least 30 minutes before the scheduled time.
5.8.2 No unauthorised recording
device is used.
5.8.3 No unauthorised person enters the video conference room when the video conference is in progress.
5.8.4 The person being examined is not prompted, tutored, coaxed, induced or coerced in any manner by any person and that the person being examined does not refer to any document, script or device without the permission of the concerned Court during the course of examination.
5.9 Where the witness to be examined through video conferencing requires or if it is otherwise expedient to do so, the Court shall give sufficient notice in advance, setting out the schedule of video conferencing and in appropriate cases may transmit non-editable digital scanned copies of all or any part of the record of the proceedings to the official email account of the Coordinator of the concerned Remote Point designated in accordance with Rule 5.3.
5.10 Before the scheduled video conferencing date, the Coordinator at the Cour t Point shall ensure that the Coordinator at the Remote Point receives certified copies, printouts or a soft copy of the non-editable scanned copies of all or any part of the record of proceedings which may be required for recording statements or evidence, or for reference. However, these shall be permitted to be used by the Required Person only with the permission of the Court.
5.11 Whenever required the Court shall order the Coordinator at the Remote Point or the Court Point to provide OFFICIAL GAZETTE — GOVT. OF GOA SERIES I No. 43 (SUPPLEMENT) 27TH JANUARY, 2023 5.11.1 A translator in case the person to be examined is not conversant with the official language of the Court.
5.11.2 An expert in sign languages in case the person to be examined is impaired in speech and/or hearing.
5.11.3 An interpreter or a special educator, as the case may be, in case a person to be examined is differently abled, either temporarily or permanently.
6.6 Costs, if directed to be paid, shall be deposited within the prescribed time, commencing from the date on which the order convening proceedings through video conferencing is received.
7. Service of Summons
Chapter III - Procedure for Video
Conferencing
6. Application for Appearance, Evidence
and Submission by Video Conferencing:
6.1 Any party to the proceeding or witness, save and except where proceedings are initiated at the instance of the Court, may move a request for video conferencing. A party or witness seeking a video conferencing proceeding shall do so by making a request in the form prescribed in Schedule II.
6.2 Any proposal to move a request for video conferencing should first be discussed with the other party or parties to the proceeding, except where it is not possible or inappropriate, for example in cases such as urgent applications.
6.3 On receipt of such a request and after giving an oppor tunity to the concerned persons, the Court will pass an appropriate order after ascertaining that the application is not filed with an intention to impede a fair trial or to delay the proceedings.
Summons issued to a witness who is to be examined through video conferencing, shall mention the date, time and venue of the concerned Remote Point and shall direct the witness to attend in person along with proof of identity or an affidavit to that effect. The existing rules regarding service of summons and the consequences for non-attendance, as provided in the Code of Civil Procedure and Code of Criminal Procedure shall apply with respect to ser vice of summons for proceedings conducted by video conferencing. In criminal cases Part IV: Service of Summons, Notices and Judicial Processes of the Guidelines on Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs shall be followed to the extent applicable.
7.1. Furthermore in respect of service of summons on witnesses residing outside the country, concerning criminal matters, the provisions of "Comprehensive Guidelines for investigation abroad and issue of Letters Rogatory (LRs)/Mutual Legal Assistance (MLA) Request and Service of Summons/Notices/Judicial documents in respect of Criminal Matters" (available at http://164.100.117.97/ W r i t e R e a d D a t a / u s e r f i l e s / I S I I _ ComprehensiveGuidelinesMutualLegal Assistance_17122019.pdf) will be followed to the extent they comport with the provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure and the extant laws.
8. Examination of persons
6.4 While allowing a request for video conferencing, the Court may also fix the schedule for convening the video conferencing.
6.5 In case the video conferencing event is convened for making oral submissions, the order may require the Advocate or party in person to submit written arguments and precedents, if any, in advance on the official email ID of the concerned Court.
8.1 Any person being examined, including a witness shall, before being examined through video conferencing, produce and file proof of identity by submitting an identity document issued or duly recognized by the Government of India, State Government, Union Territory, OFFICIAL GAZETTE — GOVT. OF GOA SERIES I No. 43 (SUPPLEMENT) 27TH JANUARY, 2023 or in the absence of such a document, an affidavit attested by any of the authorities referred to in section 139 of the Code of Civil Procedure or section 297 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, as the case may be. The affidavit will inter alia state that the person, who is shown to be the party to the proceedings or as a witness, is the same person, who is to depose at the virtual hearing. A copy of the proof of identity or affidavit, as the case may be, will be made available to the opposite party.
8.2 The person being examined will ordinarily be examined during the working hours of the concerned Court or at such time as the Court may deem fit. The oath will be administered to the person being examined by the Coordinator at the Court Point.
8.3 Where the person being examined, or the accused to be tried, is in custody, the statement or, as the case may be, the testimony, may be recorded through video conferencing. The Court shall provide adequate opportunity to the under trial prisoner to consult in privacy with their counsel before, during and after the video conferencing.
8.4 Subject to the provisions for examination of witnesses contained in the Evidence Act, before the examination of the witness, the documents, if any, sought to be relied upon shall be transmitted by the applicant to the witness, so that the witness acquires familiarity with the said documents. The applicant will file an acknowledgment with the Court in this behalf.
8.5 If a person is examined with reference to a particular document then the summons to witness must be accompanied by a duly certified photocopy of the document. The original document should be exhibited at the Court Point in accordance with the deposition of the concerned person being examined.
8.6 The Court would be at liberty to record the demeanour of the person being examined.
8.7 The Court will note the objections raised during the deposition of the person being examined and rule on them.
8.8 The Court shall obtain the signature of the person being examined on the transcript once the examination is concluded. The signed transcript will form par t of the record of the judicial proceedings. The signature on the transcript of the person being examined shall be obtained in either of the following ways:
8.8.1 If Digital Signatures are available at both the Court Point and Remote Point, the soft copy of the transcript digitally signed by the presiding Judge at the Court Point shall be treated as the original deposition and shall be sent by the official email to the Remote Point where a print out of the same will be taken and signed by the person being examined. A scanned copy of the transcript so signed shall then be digitally signed by the Coordinator at the Remote Point and would be transmitted by official email to the Court Point. The hard copy of the signed transcript will be dispatched after the testimony is over, preferably within three days by the Coordinator at the Remote Point to the Court Point by recognised courier/ registered speed post.
8.8.2 If Digital Signatures are not available, the printout of the transcript shall be signed by the presiding Judge and the authorised representative of the parties, if any, at the Court Point and shall be sent in non-editable scanned format to the official email account of the Remote Point, where a printout of the same will be taken and signed by the person examined and countersigned by the Coordinator at the Remote Point. A non-editable scanned format of the transcript so signed shall be sent by the Coordinator of the Remote Point to the official email account of the Court Point, where a printout of the same will be taken and shall also be made a part of OFFICIAL GAZETTE — GOVT. OF GOA SERIES I No. 43 (SUPPLEMENT) 27TH JANUARY, 2023 the judicial record. The hard copy would also be dispatched preferably within three days by the Coordinator at the Remote Point to the Court Point by recognised courier/registered speed post.
8.9 An audio-visual recording of the examination of person examined shall be preserved as prescribed. An encrypted master copy with hash value shall be retained as a part of the record.
8.10 The Court may, at the request of a person to be examined, or on its own motion, taking into account the best interests of the person to be examined, direct appropriate measures to protect the privacy of the person examined bearing in mind aspects such as age, gender, physical condition and recognized customs and practices.
Remote Point due to sickness or physical infirmity, or presence of the required person cannot be secured without undue delay or expense, the Court may authorize the conduct of video conferencing from the place at which such person is located. In such circumstances, the Court may direct the use of portable video conferencing systems. Authority in this behalf may be given to the concerned Coordinator and/ or any person deemed fit by the Court.
8.16 Subject to such orders as the Court may pass, in case any party or person authorized by the party is desirous of being physically present at the Remote Point at the time of recording of the testimony, such a party shall make its own arrangement for appearance/representation at the Remote Point.
9. Exhibiting or Showing Documents to
Witness or Accused at a Remote Point
8.11 The Coordinator at the Remote Point shall ensure that no person is present at the Remote Point, save and except the person being examined and those whose presence is deemed administratively necessary by the Coordinator for the proceedings to continue.
8.12 The Court may also impose such other conditions as are necessary in a given set of facts for effective recording of the examination (especially to ensure compliance with Rule 5.7).
8.13 The examination shall, as far as practicable, proceed without interruption or the grant of unnecessary adjournments. However, the Court or the Commissioner as the case may be, will be at liberty to determine whether an adjournment should be granted, and if so, on what terms.
If in the course of examination of a person at a Remote Point by video conferencing, it is necessary to show a document to the person, the Court may permit the document to be shown in the following manner:
9.1 If the document is at the Court Point, by transmitting a copy or image of the document to the Remote Point electronically, including through a document visualizer; or
9.2 If the document is at the Remote Point, by putting it to the person and transmitting a copy/image of the same to the Court Point electronically including through a document visualizer. The hard copy of the document countersigned by the witness and the Coordinator at the Remote Point shall be dispatched thereafter to the Cour t Point via authorized courier/ registered speed post.
10. Ensuring seamless video conferencing
8.14 The Court shall be guided by the provisions of the Code of Civil Procedure, Chapter XXIII and Part B of the Code of Criminal Procedure, the Evidence Act and the IT Act while examining a person through video conferencing.
8.15 Where a Required Person is not capable of reaching the Court Point or the 10.1 The Advocate or Required Person shall address the Court by video conferencing from a specified Remote Point on the date and time specified in the order issued by the Court. The presence of the OFFICIAL GAZETTE — GOVT. OF GOA SERIES I No. 43 (SUPPLEMENT) 27TH JANUARY, 2023 coordinator will not be necessary at the Remote point where arguments are to be addressed by an advocate or party in person before the Court.
10.2 If the proceedings are carried out from any of the Remote Point(s) (in situations described in Rules 5.3.1 to 5.3.9), the Coordinator at such Remote Point shall ensure compliance of all technical requirements. However, if the proceedings are conducted from a Remote Point falling in the situation contemplated under Rule 5.3.10, such as an Advocate's office, the Coordinator at the Court Point shall confirm compliance with all technical requirements for conducting video conferencing at both the Court Point and the Remote Point.
used (in case the software used is not the Designated Video Conferencing Software), the issue(s) on which the Cour t was addressed and the documents if any that were produced and transmitted online. In case a digital recording is tendered, the Court shall record its duration in the order sheet along with all other requisite details.
10.8 The Court shall also record its satisfaction as to clarity, sound and connectivity for both Court Users and Remote Users.
10.9 If a Remote User is of the opinion that they were prejudiced due to poor video and/or audio quality, the Remote User shall immediately inform the Coordinator at the Court Point, who shall in turn, communicate this information to the Court without any delay. The Court shall consider the grievance and if it finds substance in the grievance may declare the hearing to be incomplete and the parties may be asked to reconnect or make a physical appearance in Court.
11. Judicial remand, framing of charge,
examination of accused and Proceedings
under section 164 of the Code of Criminal
Procedure
10.3 The Coordinator at the Court Point shall be in contact with the concerned Advocate or the Required Person and guide them in regard to the fulfillment of technical and other requirements for executing a successful hearing through video conferencing. Any problems faced by such Remote Users shall be resolved by the Coordinator. The Cour t Point Coordinator shall inter alia share the link of the video conferencing hearing with such Remote Users.
10.4 The Coordinator at the Court Point shall ensure that any document or audio visual files, emailed by the Remote User, are duly received at the Court Point.
10.5 The Coordinator at the Court Point shall also test video conferencing facility, preferably 30 minutes prior to scheduled video conferencing in order to ensure that all the technical systems are in working condition at both the Court Point and the Remote Point.
10.6 At the scheduled time, the Coordinator at the Court Point shall connect the Remote User to the Court.
10.7 On completion of the video conferencing proceeding, the Court shall mention in the order sheet the time and duration of the proceeding, the software 11.1 The Court may, at its discretion, authorize detention of an accused, frame charges in a criminal trial under the Code of Criminal Procedure by video conferencing. However, ordinarily judicial remand in the first instance or police remand shall not be granted through video conferencing save and except in exceptional circumstances for reasons to be recorded in writing.
11.2 The Court may, in exceptional circumstances, for reasons to be recorded in writing, examine a witness or an accused under section 164 of the Code of Criminal Procedure or record the statement of the accused under Section 313 of Code of Criminal Procedure through video conferencing, while observing all due precautions to ensure that the witness or the accused as the case may be is free of OFFICIAL GAZETTE — GOVT. OF GOA SERIES I No. 43 (SUPPLEMENT) 27TH JANUARY, 2023 any form of coercion, threat or undue influence. The Court shall ensure compliance with section 26 of the Evidence Act.
12.6 In case the person to be examined is an accused, the prosecution will confirm the location of the accused at the Remote Point.
Chapter IV - General Procedure
12. General Procedure
12.1 The procedure set out hereafter in this chapter is without prejudice to the procedure indicated elsewhere in these Rules qua specific instances in which proceedings are conducted via video conferencing.
12.2 The Coordinator at the Court Point shall ensure that video conferencing is conducted only through a Designated Video Conferencing Software. However, in the event of a technical glitch during a given proceeding, the concerned Court may for reasons to be recorded permit the use of a software other than the Designated Video Conferencing Software for video conferencing in that particular proceeding.
12.3 The identity of the person to be examined shall be confirmed by the Court with the assistance of the Coordinator at the Remote Point in accordance with Rule 8.1, at the time of recording of the evidence and the same must be reflected in the order sheet of the Court.
12.4 In civil cases, parties requesting for recording statements of the person to be examined by video conferencing shall confirm to the Court, the location of the person, the willingness of such person to be examined through video conferencing and the availability of technical facilities for video conferencing at the agreed time and place.
12.5 In criminal cases, where the person to be examined is a prosecution witness or a Court witness, or where a person to be examined is a defence witness, the counsel for the prosecution or defence counsel, as the case may be, shall confirm to the Court the location of the person, willingness to be examined by video conferencing and the time, place and technical facility for such video conferencing.
12.7 Video conferencing shall ordinarily take place during the Court hours. However, the Court may pass suitable directions concerning the timing and schedule of video conferencing as the circumstances may warrant.
12.8 If the accused is in custody and not present at the Court Point, the Court will order a multi-point video conference between itself, the witness and the accused in custody to facilitate recording of the statement of the witness (including medical or other expert). The Court shall ensure that the defence of the accused is not prejudiced in any manner and that the safeguards contained in Rule 8.3 are observed.
12.9 The Coordinator at the Remote Point shall be paid such amount as honorarium as may be directed by the Court in consultation with the parties.
13. Costs of Video Conferencing
In the absence of rules prescribed by the concerned Court, the Court may take into consideration following circumstances while determining and/or apportioning the costs of video conferencing:
13.1 In criminal cases, the expenses of the video conferencing facility including expenses involved in preparing soft copies/ certified copies of the Court record and transmitting the same to the Coordinator at the Remote Point, and the fee payable to translator/interpreter/special educator, as the case may be, as also the fee payable to the Coordinator at the Remote Point, shall be borne by such party as directed by the Court.
13.2 In civil cases, generally, the party making the request for recording evidence, through video conferencing shall bear the expenses.
13.3 Besides the above, the Court may also make an order as to expenses as it OFFICIAL GAZETTE — GOVT. OF GOA SERIES I No. 43 (SUPPLEMENT) 27TH JANUARY, 2023 considers appropriate, taking into account rules/instructions regarding payment of expenses to the complainant and witnesses, as may be prevalent from time to time.
13.4 It shall be open to the Court to waive the costs as warranted in a given situation.
14. Conduct of Proceedings
14.1 All Advocates, Required Persons, the party in person and/or any other person permitted by the Court to remain physically or virtually present (hereinafter collectively referred to as participants) shall abide by the requirements set out in Schedule I. The High Court may issue such special or general directions, not inconsistent with the Rules, to supplement the Schedule.
14.2 Before the commencement of video conferencing all participants, shall have their presence recorded. However, in case a participant is desirous that their face or name be masked, information to that effect will be furnished to the Cour t Point Coordinator prior to the commencement of the proceeding.
participant that the Court deems necessary at the Remote Point or the Court Point can be seen and heard clearly and can clearly see and hear the Court.
14.8 To ensure that video conferencing is conducted seamlessly, the difficulties, if any, experienced in connectivity must be brought to the notice of the Court at the earliest on the official email address and mobile number of the Cour t Point Coordinator which has been furnished to the participant before the commencement of the virtual hearing. No complaint shall subsequently be entertained.
14.9 Wherever any proceeding is carried out by the Court under these Rules by taking recourse to video conferencing, this shall specifically be mentioned in the order sheet.
14.10 Any Advocate/party who behaves in a manner that disturbs seamless conduct of the Video Conference hearing is liable to be removed from the hearing and re-entry of such person may be prohibited.
15. Access to Legal Aid Clinics/Camps/Lok
Adalats/Jail Adalats
14.3 The Court Point Coordinator shall send the link/Meeting ID/ Room Details to the email Id/mobile number furnished by the Advocate or Required Person or other participant permitted to be virtually present by the Court. Once the proceedings have commenced, no other persons will be permitted to participate in the virtual hearing, save and except with the permission of the Court.
14.4 The participants, after joining the hearing shall remain in the virtual lobby if available, until they are admitted to virtual hearing by the Coordinator at the Court Point.
14.5 Participation in the proceedings shall constitute consent by the participants to the proceedings being recorded by video conferencing.
15.1 In conformity with the provisions of the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987 and the laws in force, in proceedings related to Legal Aid Clinics, Camps, Lok Adalats or Jail Adalats, any person who at the Remote Point is in Jail or Prison shall be examined by the Chairman/ Secretary of the District Legal Service Authority or Taluka Legal Ser vice Committee or Members of Lok Adalats before passing any award or orders in accordance with law.
15.2 Such award or order shall have the same force as if it was passed by the regular Lok Adalat or Jail Adalat.
15.3 Copy of the award or order and the record of proceedings shall be sent to the Remote Point.
16. Allowing persons who are not parties
to the case to view the proceedings
14.6 Establishment and disconnection of links between the Court Point and the Remote Point would be regulated by orders of the Court.
14.7 The Court shall satisfy itself that the Advocate, Required Person or any other 16.1 In order to observe the requirement of an open Court proceeding, members of OFFICIAL GAZETTE — GOVT. OF GOA SERIES I No. 43 (SUPPLEMENT) 27TH JANUARY, 2023 the public will be allowed to view Court
hearings conducted through video
conferencing, except proceedings ordered
for reasons recorded in writing to be
conducted in-camera. The Court shall
endeavour to make available sufficient links
(consistent with available bandwidth) for
accessing the proceedings.
16.2 Where, for any reason, a person
unconnected with the case is present at
the Remote Point, that person shall be
identified by the Coordinator at the Remote
Point at the start of the proceedings and
the purpose of the presence of that person
shall be conveyed to the Court. Such a
person shall continue to remain present
only if ordered so by the Court.
SCHEDULE – I
1. All participants shall wear sober attire
consistent with the dignity of the proceedings or
such attire as may be permissible.
Advocates shall be appropriately dressed in
professional attire prescribed under the Advocates
Act, 1961. Police officials shall appear in the uniform
prescribed for police officials under the relevant
statute or orders. The attire for judicial officers and
Court staff will be as specified in the relevant rules
prescribed in that behalf by the High Court. The
decision of the Presiding Judge or officer as to the
dress code will be final.
2. Proceedings shall be conducted at the
appointed date and time. Punctuality shall be
scrupulously observed.
3. The case will be called out and appearances Chapter V – Miscellaneous shall be recorded on the direction of the Court.
17. Reference to Words and Expressions
Words and expressions used and not
defined in these Rules shall have the same
meaning as assigned to them in the Code of
Civil Procedure, the Code of Criminal
Procedure, Evidence Act, IT Act and the
General Clauses Act, 1897.
17.1 Power to Relax
The High Court may if satisfied that the
operation of any Rule is causing undue
hardship, by an order dispense with or relax
the requirements of that Rule to such extent
and subject to such conditions, as may be
stipulated to deal with the case in a just and
equitable manner.
17.2 Residual Provisions
Matters with respect to which no express
provision has been made in these Rules, shall
be decided by the Court to further the
interests of justice.
HIGH COURT OF
JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY R. N. Joshi Date: 4th January, 2023 Registrar General.
4. All participants who log in shall ensure that
they are identifiable by their individual names.
5. Every participant shall adhere to the courtesies
and protocol that are followed in a physical Court.
6. All participants shall configure their devices
to facilitate efficient conduct of proceedings such
as keeping the microphones muted at all times till
they are called upon to make submissions.
7. Remote Users shall ensure that their devices
are free from malware.
8. Remote Users and the Coordinator at the
Remote Point shall ensure that the Remote Point is
situated in a quiet location, is properly secured
and has sufficient internet coverage. Any
unwarranted disturbance caused during video
conferencing may if the Presiding Judge so directs
render the proceedings non-est.
9. All participants' cell phones shall remain in
silent mode during the proceedings.
10. All participants should endeavour to look
into the camera, remain attentive and not engage
in any other activity during the course of the
proceedings.
OFFICIAL GAZETTE — GOVT. OF GOA SERIES I No. 43 (SUPPLEMENT) 27TH JANUARY, 2023SCHEDULE II
Request Form for Video Conference
1. Case Number /CNR Number (if any) :
2. Cause Title :
3. Proposed Date of conference (DD/MM/YYYY) :
4. Location of the Court Point(s) :
5. Location of the Remote Point(s) :
6. Names & Designation of the Participants at the Remote Point :
7. Reasons for Video Conferencing :
In the matter of :
8. Nature of Proceedings : Final Hearing Motion Hearing Others
I have read and understood the provisions of Rules for Video Conferencing for Courts (hyperlink). I undertake to remain bound by the same to the extent applicable to me. I agree to pay video conferencing charges if so, directed by the Court.
Signature of the applicant/authorised signatory:
Date:
For use of the Registry/Court Point Coordinator
A. Bench assigned:
B. Hearing:
Held on (DD/MM/YYYY) :
Commencement Time :
End time :
Number of hours :
C. Costs :
Overseas transmission charges if any:
To be Incurred by Applicant/Respondent:
To be shared equally:
Waived; as ordered by the Court:
Signature of the authorised officer:
Date:
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