Bihar Gazette, 20 February 2026

REGISTERED NO. PT.-40

EXTRA ORDINARY

PUBLISHED BY AUTHORITY 1 PHALGUNA 1947 (S)

(NO. PATNA 213) PATNA, FRIDAY, 20TH FEBRUARY 2026 HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA ——— NOTIFICATION 20th February 2026 E-Certified Copy Rules of the High Court of Judicature at Patna, 2026 No. (X-01-2026) A.D. (Rules)163 (R)—In exercise of the powers conferred under Article 225 and 227 of the Constitution of India, the High Court of Judicature at Patna makes the following rules for providing e-Certified Copy of the Order(s)/ Judgment(s)/ Petition(s)/ Document(s)/ Evidence(s) available on the record of a pending or disposed off case of the High Court and District Courts over which it has supervisory jurisdiction:

1. Short Title, Applicability and Commencement.—These Rules shall be called e-Certified Copy Rules of the High Court of Judicature at Patna, 2026 and shall apply to the High Court as well as the District Court under its control and supervision. These Rules shall come into force from the date of its publication in the Official Gazette.

The facility of providing e-Certified Copy under these rules shall be in addition to the existing facility of providing certified copies as per the rules provided in Chapter-XIV under Part- IV of the Rules of the High Court at Patna, 1916 and Part- IV of the Civil Court Rules of the High Court of Judicature at Patna (Volume- I) and Criminal Court Rules of the High Court of Judicature at Patna.

2. Preface.—These Rules will apply to electronic application(s) made for obtaining an e-Certified Copy of Order(s)/ Judgment(s)/ Petition(s)/ Document(s)/ Evidence(s) available on the record of a pending or disposed off case. The procedure to scrutinize the application for e-Certified Copy shall be consistent with all the existing rules & circulars pertaining to obtaining the copies. Documents restricted under the Rules2 BIHAR GAZETTE (EXTRA) 20TH FEBRUARY 2026 of the High Court at Patna, 1916, Civil Court Rules of the High Court of Judicature and Criminal Court Rules of the High Court of Judicature at Patna shall continue to remain restricted and shall not be supplied under these rules as well.

3. Definitions

(i) In these Rules, unless the context otherwise requires:

(a) Applicant means a party to a proceeding or an advocate on behalf of the Party, or a Public Officer, at any stage of the proceeding, to obtain an e-Certified Copy of the record of proceeding.

(b) Authorized Officer means an officer of the Registry not below the rank of Deputy Registrar, authorized by the Chief Justice to administer and deal with matters connected with or related to the e-Certified Copy in the High Court. In so far as the District Courts are concerned, it would mean the official(s) authorized by the concerned Principal District & Sessions Judge in this regard.

Court of Judicature at Patna (Volume- I).

(d) Criminal Court Rules means the Criminal Court Rules of the

High Court of Judicature at Patna.

(e) Dealing Official means an official working under the

supervision and control of the Authorized Officer.

(f) Digitized Record means the record of the proceeding(s)

available in digital form.

(g) Digital Signature means a signature affixed using secure Digital Signature Certificate issued under the Information technology Act, 2000.

(h) District Court(s) means and includes court(s) established and functioning under the control and supervision of the High Court.

(i) e-Certified Copy means an authenticated electronic copy generated from the digitized record containing particulars as prescribed by the High Court Rules, Civil Court Rules or the Criminal Court Rules of the High Court of Judicature at Patna, as the case may be.

(j) Electronic Application(s) means an application for e-Certified Copy filed through the electronic mode on the official web portal or the mobile application of the High Court or the District Court(s), as the case may be.

(k) High Court means the High Court of Judicature at Patna. (l) High Court Rules means the Rules of the High Court at Patna,

1916.

(m) Objection means and includes deficiencies and errors pointed out by the Authorized Officer in the electronic application. (n) Portal means the official website or mobile application of

Patna High Court & District Courts of Bihar.

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(o) Public Officer means an officer in Class I or Class II service of the Central/State Governments or the Chief Executive Officer/Secretary of any Local Self Government (Municipal Corporations/ Municipalities/ Panchayats).

(p) Public Purpose means the copy required for the record of Central/ State Government/ Local Self Government (Municipal Corporations/ Municipalities/ Panchayats) or for production in any legal proceeding before a Court/ Tribunal/ Authority. (q) Proceeding means any suit/ appeal/ petition/ application instituted/ preferred/ filed/ made in/ before/ to the High Court or the District Court(s), as the case may be, whether pending/ disposed of.

(r) Registry means the Registry of the High Court. (s) Stranger means and includes any person or entity who is not a

party to the proceeding.

(t) Working Day means and includes a day when the Registry of the Court is working in case of High Court and a court working day in case of District Court(s), under the Calendar published or as directed by the Court.

(u) The words and expressions used herein and not defined hereinabove, but defined in the High Court Rules, Civil Court Rules or the Criminal Court Rules of the High Court of Judicature at Patna, as the case may be, shall have the same meaning assigned to them in the said Rules.

4. General Instructions.—

(i) Electronic Application for grant of e-Certified Copy shall be made only through the official web portal or mobile application of the High Court or the District Court(s), as the case may be.

(ii) The applicant shall be required to register on the portal and provide necessary details, including case particulars and the documents of which the copy is required.

(iii) At a given time, a party entitled to e-Certified Copy of records can move only one electronic application in a proceeding. (iv) In proceedings where the e-Certified Copy of the digitized record exceeds the file size of 40 MB, the Authorized Officer shall inform the applicant to deposit a compatible storage device or the cost for storage device within three (03) days to enable sharing of the e-Certified Copy of the digitized record.

(v) In cases where the digitized record is not available, the electronic application for e-Certified Copy shall be treated as the one for physical Certified Copy and the dealing official shall inform the applicant about the same. The applicant shall deposit the fee for physical Certified Copy as per extant Rules and on failure to deposit the fee, the application shall stand disposed of on expiry of three (03) working days from the date of intimation to the applicant.

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5. Entitlement to receive e-Certified Copy.—Applications for the e-Certified Copy of the Judgment(s)/ Order(s)/ Petition(s)/ Document(s)/ Evidence(s) available on the record of a pending or disposed off case in any proceeding may be made by:-

(a) A party to the proceeding, if the party has appeared in person. (b) The Advocate representing the party. (c) A Public Officer if the Copy is required for public purpose.

6. Steps for Registration: -

(a) To file an electronic application for e-Certified Copy, the persons entitled shall register on the official web portal of the High Court or the District Court(s), as the case may be, by following the procedure laid down and after submission of the following details:

i. Name of the Applicant ii. Mobile Number iii. Email ID iv. Gender v. Address vi. In case of an Advocate, AUIN No. (For High Court) or Bar

Registration No. (For District Courts)

vii. Valid Government Identity Proof viz. Aadhaar Card, PAN

Card, Voter ID Card, Driving License.

Note: Advocate with AUIN No. assigned to them need not register again and can proceed for application of e-Certified Copy.

7. Mode of Application.—After registration, an electronic application for an e- Certified Copy can be made only through the web portal or mobile application of the High Court or the District Court(s), as the case may be. An acknowledgement slip will be generated upon successful submission of the Electronic Application.

The facility for filing an electronic application on the web portal or mobile application shall be made available round the clock, subject to breakdown, server downtime, system maintenance or other unforeseen exigencies.

If online filing of an electronic application is not possible for any of the reasons set out above, the applicant shall approach the designated counters for physical filing of application as per the prevalent rule and practice. No exemption from limitation shall be permitted on the ground of failure of the web portal or mobile application facility.

8. Scrutiny.—

(a) Acknowledgements generated till 01:30 P.M. shall be processed on the same working day where the digitized records are available. Those generated after 01:30 P.M. shall be processed on the next working day where the digitized records are available. If the application is filed on any day which is declared holiday in the High Court or the District Court(s), as the case may be, it shall be processed on the next working day of the respective Court.

(b) In case of applications made where the digitized records are not available, they shall be processed within next three (03) working days.

(c) A Dealing Official shall scrutinize the electronic applications. Objections, if any, shall be brought to the notice of the Authorized Officer who shall communicate to the applicant through the portal/ any other electronic mode. On removal of the Objections, the Electronic Application shall be processed further. If the applicant fails to remove5 BIHAR GAZETTE (EXTRA) 20TH FEBRUARY 2026 the objections within three (03) working days from the date of communication of objections, the application shall stand rejected. (d) The Authorized Officer may reject an application for supply of e- Certified Copy, if the same is applied by a stranger who has no right to obtain it.

(e) The Authorized Officer may also reject the application on any other ground including disclosure of any incorrect details in the application.

(f) No Electronic Application shall be allowed, if it is not as per the High Court Rules, Civil Court Rules or the Criminal Court Rules of the High Court of Judicature at Patna, as the case may be.

9. Supervision.—The Authorized Officer of the concerned copying department shall be in-Charge of the internal organization of the copying department and shall be responsible for the efficient monitoring of electronic application, their scrutiny, delivery and other matters.

10. Particulars to be endorsed on the e-Certified Copy.—The following details shall be embedded on the e-Certified Copy:-

(i) Electronic Application Number (ii) Date of requisition (iii) Date of Preparation of e-Certified Copy (iv) Total Number of Pages (v) Total Cost (vi) Name and digital signature of Authorized Officer (vii) A unique QR Code to verify the authenticity of the e-Certified Copy

11. Preparation, Authentication and Delivery of e-Certified Copy.— Upon proper scrutiny of the application, if an application is found free of all defects, the Dealing Official shall prepare and the Authorized Officer shall authenticate and electronically deliver e-Certified Copy through the following steps:

(a) The Authorized Officer or his in-charge will authenticate and certify it to be true copy under his digital signature which shall be endorsed on each page of the e-Certified Copy.

(b) Certified Copy shall be delivered to the applicant through the official web portal by uploading the digitally signed e-Certified Copy by the Authorized Officer or his in-charge.

12. Fee.—

(a) A fee at the rate of Rs.5/- per page shall be charged for obtaining e- Certified Copies. Fee shall be paid online through the web portal or the mobile application at the time of submitting electronic application.

(b) In case of pleadings/ evidence/ document filed/ recorded in a suit/ appeal/ application instituted/ preferred/ made to a civil court subordinate to the High Court, the fees as may be chargeable under the Court – fees Act, 1870.

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Provided that no fees will be charged:-

(i) On application for e-Certified Copy made by a public officer is required for a public purpose.

(ii) On applications for e-Certified Copy of the judgment or order recording conviction/ acquittal of a Government servant in case such application is made by the head of the department concerned.

13. A Stranger to a proceeding may – (a) For the reasons/ purpose recorded in writing in the application made personally apply for the certified copy in the matters decided by the High Court/ District Court.

14. The application made by the stranger to the proceeding will be processed only if the Joint Registrar (Judicial) for High Court / A Judicial Officer nominated by the District Judge for District Court, as the case may be, is satisfied about the bona fide requirement.

15. A fee at double the rate specified in this chapter will be charged on the applications made by the stranger/s to the proceedings.

16. Legal recognition of e-Certified Copy.—An authenticated e-Certified copy shall be deemed to be a certified copy of the digitized record and shall have legal recognition. Printout of e-Certified Copy shall not be deemed fit/ valid for any legal purposes.

17. Storage of electronic applications and e-Certified Copy.—

(a) Electronic applications for an e-Certified Copy will be stored electronically for a period of six months.

(b) e-Certified Copy uploaded on the official web portal or the mobile application will remain available for a period of one month. The applicant will have to download the same within the specified period, else the same shall be deleted upon expiry of the said period.

18. Confidentiality.—The applicant shall not use e-Certified Copy of the record for any unauthorized purpose nor share it with a person who is not entitled to access or inspect the e-Certified Copy.

19. Power to remove difficulties.—In case of difficulty, the interpretation made by the Chief Justice or by the Judge nominated by the Chief Justice will be final and binding.

20. Rules not in derogation of any other Law.—The provisions of these Rules shall be in addition to and not in derogation of the provisions of any other Law for the time being in force. The aspects on which present Rules are silent, provisions of Chapter- XIV under Part-IV of the High Court Rules, Part- IV of the Civil Court Rules of the High Court of Judicature at Patna (Volume- I) or the Criminal Court Rules of the High Court of Judicature at Patna, as the case may be, shall apply.

By order of the Court Pradeep Kumar Malik Registrar General

——— PUBLISHED AND PRINTED BY THE SUPERINTENDENT, BIHAR SECRETARIAT PRESS, PATNA, BIHAR GAZETTE (EXTRA) 213—571+100 Website:https://egazette.bihar.gov.in