MEMORANDUM OF WRIT PETITION

(Under Article 226 of the Constitution of India)

IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT MADRAS

(Special Original Jurisdiction)

W.P. No. of 2019

India Awake for Transparency

Rep. by its Director,

Rajender Kumar

Unit 1, Mezzanine Floor,

24 Desika Street,

Mylapore, Chennai 600 004.

…. Petitioner

Vs

1. The Registrar General

Madras High Court Chennai

2. The Secretary Department of Law

Government of Tamilnadu Chennai

3. The Secretary Ministry of Law and Justice

Union of India New Delhi

… Respondents

WRIT PETITION

The address for service on the Petitioner is that of its Counsel, M/s T Su-

githra and M K Kanimozhi Advocates at D 1 Ground Floor Shristhi Cres-

cendo 24 Desika Road Mylapore Chennai 600004

The address for service on the Respondents is the same as stated above

For the reasons stated in the accompanying affidavit it is prayed that this

Hon’ble Court may pleased to issue a writ of mandamus or any other form

of writ, order or direction in the nature of a writ directing the respondents to

implement the changes set out in the proposals contained in Petitioner’s re-

presentation dated 18.11.2019 and to fix time frames for the same and pass

such further or other orders as this Hon’ble Court may deem fit and proper

in the circumstances of the case and thus render justice

Dated at Chennai on this the day of December 2019

Counsel for Petitioner

IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT MADRAS

(Special Original Jurisdiction)

W.P. No. of 2019

India Awake for Transparency

Rep. by its Director,

Rajender Kumar

Unit 1, Mezzanine Floor,

24 Desikar Street,

Mylapore, Chennai 600 004.

…. Petitioner

Vs

1. The Registrar General

Madras High Court Chennai

2. The Secretary Department of Law

Government of Tamilnadu Chennai

3. The Secretary Ministry of Law and Justice

Union of India New Delhi

… Respondents

AFFIDAVIT FILED ON BEHALF OF THE PETITIONER

I, Rajender Kumar, son of Sri S. Raghavender Rao, Hindu, aged about 47

years, having office at Unit D-1 Ground Floor Shristi Crescendo 24 Desika

Street, Mylapore, Chennai 600 004, do hereby solemnly and sincerely af-

firm and state as follows:

1. I am a Director of the petitioner company and am well acquainted with

the facts of the case and am duly authorized to file this affidavit on be-

half of the company.

2. I state that the Petitioner-Company was incorporated by the name M/s.

INDIA AWAKE FOR TRANSPARENCY, under the provisions of Sec

25 of the the Companies Act, 1956 as a Non profit private company li-

mited by shares. A copy of the Memorandum and Articles of Associa-

tion which is in force is filed along with the writ petition.I state that by

order dated 17.08.2018 the Regional Director Southern Region Ministry

of Corporate Affairs Union of India had directed that the name of the

Petitioner be changed to India Awake for Transparency P Ltd and the

said order is under challenge in WP 10235 /2019 at this Hon’ble Court.

I state that whether the company is a private limited company or a com-

pany registered under Section 8 of the Companies Act 2013 has no bear-

ing on the matters in respect of which this Petition is filed and does not

in any manner affect the right of the Petitioner to agitate the said issues.

3. I state that the Petitioner is primarily focused on working in areas of go-

vernance and efficient resource management , whether in the public or

private sphere. The company also focuses on mis governance in the pri-

vate and corporate sector. I crave leave of this Hon’ble Court to refer to

the objects of the company as set out in the Memorandum of Associa-

tion to appreciate the intended spheres of operation of the company.

4. I state that the Petitioner has not filed any other earlier Public Interest

Litigation, on the same issue in any other court in the country.

5. I state that the Petitioner company has been working on various matters

of importance including in the sphere of litigation.

6. I state that neither the Petitioner nor its members nor any of its Director

have any personal interest in the litigation and the petition is not guided

by self-gain or for gain of any other person /institution/ body and that

there is no motive other than of public interest in filing the writ petition.

I state that the mere fact that the Petitioner as a litigant will also inciden-

tally benefit amongst millions of others will in no manner bar the Peti-

tioner from seeking these remedies in the larger interest of the society at

large

7. I state that the Petition is not financed by any third party. I state that the

Petition is financed by the Petitioner out of its own resources only I

state that I have an annual income of approximately Rs.7,50,000/- and

the petitioner PAN No. is AGVPR8809D.

8. I state that the writ petition is being filed as a public interest litigation

to seek that the Respondents take steps to effect the changes and im-

provements set out in Petitioner representation dated 18.11.2019 in re-

spect of the improvement of the Justice Delivery System at this

Hon’ble Court to benefit all litigants who access this temple of justice

9. I state that as the challenge is to the inaction of the Respondents in

emailing necessary improvements and changes so that the issues faced

by litigants including Advocates in accessing justice is addressed. I state

that the issues are not the matters concerning the judicial activities of

this Hon’ble Court. I state that in view of the reliefs sought in this Peti-

tion only relating to improvements in the various processes at this

Hon’ble Court including information dissemination through the web site

there would be no other parties which need to be arrayed in the Peti-

tion. I state that the matters in respect of which the Petition is filed re-

late to the need to improve the methods and processes at various inter-

face points between litigants and Advocates with the High Court includ-

ing the Website of the Hon’ble Court. Since these persons are too nu-

merous and have no personal interest in the matter, they are unlikely to

approach this Hon’ble Court individually on this issue. Hence the peti-

tioner herein prefers this PIL.

10. I state that in the unlikely event of the Hon’ble Court finding any need

to impose costs on the Petitioner in respect of the filing of the Petitioner,

the Petitioner has the ability to make payment of such costs

11. I further state that to the best of my knowledge no petition seeking

similar reliefs to that craved for in this Writ Petition moved as a PIL

has till date been filed at this Hon’ble Court

12. I further state that the Petition is based on its own research done

through its Volunteers comparing procedures and processes adopted by

other High Courts in respect of the interfaces and touch points with the

users be it Advocates or litigants and as such the entire set of facts

based on which the Petition is filed is not based on any 3rd party infor-

mation

13. I state that the Petitioner is filing in Public Interest the instant Writ Peti-

tion under Article 226 of the Constitution of India seeking appropriate

Writ directing the respondents to ensure that suitable steps are

taken to give effect to the various issues in respect of which

specific improvement has been suggested by the Petitioner in

its representation dated 18.11.2019 and to set out a time

bound program for implementation of the same

14. I state that the Petitioner has been working on this issue and made re-

presentation to the 1st Respondent on 20.11.2019 and also circulated

copies of the same to various Bar Associations of the High Court as

they were all important stake holders in the process of administration of

justice. I state that the Petitioner has now approached this Hon’ble Court

in the light of the fact that no action been taken by the Respondents. I

state that given the substantial changes and improvements to be made

the Petitioner believes that the changes sought cannot be made without

directions and push and impetus by way of judicial orders so that the

2nd and 3rd Respondent which may have to allocate funds and also

provide various forms of support including by way of technology or

otherwise are also party to the orders and made responsible for imple-

mentation thereof. I state that it is not practical to expect that the 1st

Respondent can act on its own to effect changes and improvements set

out in the representation even if longer time is given in this regard I

state that the petition, if allowed, would benefit the inhabitants of this

State at large for whom the government and its organizations being the

respondents are duty bound. I state that the representation was not made

to the 2nd and 3rd Respondents as the changes and improvements are to

be initiated by the 1st Respondent and the role of the 2nd and 3rd Res-

pondents is only to support such changes and improvements as the 1st

Respondent may choose to effect

15. I state that the role of ensuring rule of law needs no elaboration. Access

to justice is widely recognized as a part of the fundamental guarantee of

Right to Life under Article 21 of the Constitution. I state that speedy

justice has been the subject matter of considerable attention by the

Hon’ble Apex Court as well. I state that in a Constitutional Democracy

that our Union is there can be no decrying the need for scrupulously en-

suring rule of the law and in such context there is need that justice deli-

very systems are tuned to match the expectations of society

16. I state that need for transparency has been widely recognized including

by passing the Right to Information Act and even recently the Constitu-

tion Bench of the Apex Court held that even the Apex Court was within

the bounds of the said Act. I state that as the High Court though func-

tioning only from 2 benches at Chennai and Madurai serves the entire

length and breadth of the state and even persons outside the state are li-

tigants before it for matters where the cause of action arises within the

state and that as most such persons cannot visit the court physically they

are reliant only on the website of the High Court for access to and relia-

ble information of the happenings at this Hon’ble Court even though

they would be updated by the Advocates

17. I state that the representation dated 18.11.2019 inter alia covers the fol-

lowing areas of improvements :

a) Improvements to the Website to bring the same in line with the web-

sites at Delhi and Bombay High Courts so that all relevant informa-

tion including all orders and details of the case are available online

even from filing date at SR stage

b) Moving to practice of Daily causelists published weekly in advance

with provision to accommodate urgent items by way of Daily Sup-

plementary lists as done at Bombay High Court

c) Ensuring that process of scrutiny at Registry before taking on file

the case is streamlined to ensure that scope of registry scrutiny is

purely limited to matters of completeness of papers filed and the

court fees and completion of the same be made time bound and has-

sle free as the scope of work by Registry is well clarified by the

Apex Court

d) Ensuring that all cases have next listing date and that cases are listed

on board of roster judge on that date and fresh dates allocated even

if the items could not be taken up due to paucity of time so that there

are no orphan cases lying without dates

e) Allocating roster judges based on study on pendency and flow of

admission matters so that the previous time of Judges are allocated

evenly in line with demands from litigants for their time

f) Ensuring audio video recording of proceedings of Court as a record

of the Court

g) E enabling Court rooms so that Judges can access the Authorities di-

rectly on the Systems mounted on their tables, as done in Delhi High

Court, and avoid voluminous paper printing and also clarify that use

of Laptops by Advocates inside Court Halls is not restricted

h) Enabling internet connectivity in Court through if necessary even

private telecom providers on Wi-Fi mode as done in other High

Courts

i) Ensuring Cause list availability on Advocate Code basis allocated

by High Court itself to enable easy access to daily lists

j) Ensuring full list of next day is available by 7 PM latest so that the

Advocates and Litigants can plan for the next day court schedule

k) In all cases of ad interim reliefs sought against Defen-

dants/Respondents make advance service of petition compulsory, as

is being done almost as a rule in many High Courts, to ensure a

modicum of hearing before such reliefs are granted

l) Like Apex Court ensure that Petitioner and Respondent in the case

on board are at the designated position in front row to the right (Pe-

titioner) and left (Respondent/Defendant)

m) Provide for use of mikes in all courts for better audibility and in any

event without the same audio video recording would not be useful

n) List the procedural miscellaneous matters such as dispense with cer-

tified copy, delay condonation etc along with the main matter rather

than as presently where each step is done sequentially, even though

as pure formality causing delays and needless expending of judicial

time

o) publishing list of all standing counsel at the High Court of various

agencies on the High Court website for easing completion of re-

quirements of service

p) permitting service by government agencies like Speedpost as valid

service instead of relying only on court service to speed up service

completion which is a big delay causing factor in progressing with

matters

q) like Apex Court delegate all regular listing of matters to Master

courts so that the Hon’ble Judges of this Court are not burdened

with hearings except for material stages of admission, ad inte-

rim/interim orders and modification and final orders and deciding

any matters that the Master Courts may want them to deal with at

any stage of proceedings as this would ensure that the Hon’ble

Judges have more time to deal with matters where they can adjudi-

cate on merits

18. I state that most of these if not all of these would not need any changes

to the Rules or any legislative action to amend statute. I state that the

same can be implemented by administrative action of the 1st Respon-

dent with support of the 2nd and 3rd Respondents.

19. I state that with the E Court initiative and other digital initiatives in

place the improvements would make the process of justice dispensation

far more seamless

20. I state that each of these are not only welcome measures but are also

necessary given the time being expended by even advocates in dealing

with the Registry and also the overload on the Registry. A well defined

and clear role that Registry is only required to check procedural com-

pleteness of the papers would reduce workload on the Registry as well.

Many of these are already followed by many other High Court

21. I state that the object of speeding up justice delivery and simplifying

process of user interaction with the justice delivery system needs to be

vastly improved and there is no reason for the users of services of this

High Court to be not provided services and facilities available to liti-

gants at other High Courts.

22. I state that while all of the changes may not be possible to implement on

one day each of these do not require long drawn schedules. I state that

even on the website front since the Bombay High Court and Apex

Court websites have most of the functionalities the same can be bor-

rowed

23. I state that it is just and necessary that necessary directions be issued on

the subject matter of the writ to ensure that the Respondents make time

bound progress on the same. I state that given the importance of

progress on this matter it is necessary that this Hon’ble Court monitors

the progress of the implementation

24. I state that while the High Court has committees of Judges overseeing

even various administrative works it would be advantageous if a me-

chanism is constituted to receive and act on continuous improvement of

systems and procedures including benchmarking with Apex Court and

other High Courts so that people accessing this Hon’ble Court for jus-

tice can be sure that the services they obtain on the administrative side

are as good as that in any other court in this country

It is therefore prayed that this Hon’ble Court may be pleased to

(a) issue a writ of mandamus or any other form of writ, order or direction

in the nature of a writ directing the respondents to implement the

changes set out in the proposals contained in Petitioner’s representation

dated 18.11.2019 are implemented and to direct them to fix time frames

for the same

(b) Pending disposal of the Writ Petition direct the 1st Respondent to

present a report on the differences in practices followed at High Courts of

Delhi and Bombay and at the Apex Court in respect of the matters set out in

the Petitioner’s representation dated 20.11.2019 and also in respect of the

content and design of the website of the said Courts

(c) Pending disposal of the Writ Petition direct the first respondent oto

make an assessment on the timeframe required for giving effect to the

changes and Improvements set out in petitioners representation dated

18.11.2019 , pass such further or other orders as this Hon’ble Court may

deem fit and proper in the circumstances of the case and thus render jus-

tice.

Solemnly affirmed at Chennai |

on this the day of |

December 2019 and signed | Before me,

his name in my presence: |

Advocate, Chennai

IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT MADRAS

(Special Original Jurisdiction)

W.P. No of 2019

India Awake For Transparency

…Petitioner

Versus

The Registrar General Madras High Court & Ors

... Respondents

INDEX TO TYPESET OF PAPERS

Sl No Date Description Pg No

1 Certificate of Incorporation & Memorandum

of Objects of Petitioner

2 20.11.2019 Letter of representation of Petitioner to 1st

Respondent

Dated at Chennai on this day of December 2019

Advocate for Petitioner