During the hearing, counsel for the petitioners sought exemptions from mandatory e-filing for female and senior citizen advocates. This prompted the CJI to ask,
“Why this presumption? Female advocates are even more tech-savvy than their male counterparts.”
The lawyer responded that not taking physical filings at all was exclusionary.
While dictating the order, the CJI broke into a smile and stated,
“We are not inclined to accept the general exemption to female practitioners. There is no reason to postulate that there is a gender divide in ability to use technology.“
Justice Narasimha advised counsel against making the matter adversarial and adopt technology.
“Do not convert this to litigation. See the use of UPI, even vegetable vendors are using it.”
On taking a poll of counsel present in the court hall, the CJI found that only one among them had attended the Supreme Court E-Committee’s training program regarding e-filing.
“I request all members of bar to attend the training program. It is more about awareness than training. It will help us know what improvements to make; some members have made excellent suggestions. I would implore all, SCAORA, SCBA to attend. It will help us and the lawyers.“
Source: Barandbench
