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Indian Express
08-07-2025
- Politics
- Indian Express
Karkardooma court lawyers end hunger strike over shifting 34 digital cheque bounce courts after ‘assurance and request' from Delhi HC
After a written assurance and request from Delhi High Court Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya, lawyers in Karkardooma Court have called off their four-day hunger strike protesting the decision to shift the judges of 34 digital Negotiable Instruments Act courtrooms that hear cheque bounce cases from six court complexes in Delhi to the Rouse Avenue court complex. For a week, the lawyers in the court complex situated in Northeast Delhi had been abstaining from work as part of the protest. After the Coordination Committee of All District Courts Bar Associations of Delhi held a meeting with Chief Justice Upadhyaya, the trial court lawyers finally decided to call off their strike. 'The Chief Justice took stock of the situation, requested the Members of the Karkardooma Bar to resume the work forthwith and further assured that all issues and concerns relating to functioning of Digital Courts shall be addressed at the earliest by the High Court at the institutional level,' a circular dated July 7 by Delhi High Court Registrar General Arun Bhardwaj reads. '…the Chief Justice also conveyed to the Coordination Committee that he fully understands the situation and will take all possible steps to ensure that all courts function smoothly,' the circular stated. Shortly afterwards, the secretary of the Shahdara Bar Association (SBA), advocate Narveer Dabas, issued a notice. 'In view of the written assurance & request of Hon'ble Chief Justice, High Court of Delhi, (Copy Annexed), it has been unanimously resolved by the Executive Committee of Shahdara Bar Association (Regd)., that all members of SBA (Regd.) shall resume their work from 08.07.2025,' it read. Of the 34 courtrooms whose judges had been shifted, nine are from Dwarka, seven from Tis Hazari, six from Saket, five from Karkardooma Court, four from Rohini, and three from Patiala House Court. While the judges of the respective courtrooms were shifted to Rouse Avenue Court, the court staff (readers, ahlmads and stenographers), who ensure the functioning of the court, continue to operate from their respective districts. Rooms have been allotted to these judges on the seventh floor of the Rouse Avenue court complex in Central Delhi. The Delhi High Court, which was behind this move, had cited 'optimal utilisation of available infrastructure and resources' and 'inadequate space' to justify the shift of judges of digital cheque bounce courts in a May 30 notification. 'The remaining arrangement, including support staff deployment and recording of evidence from the respective District Court Complexes, shall continue as per the previous directions/practice until adequate and permanent space is made available in the District Courts concerned to which these Digital NI Act Courts ultimately belong,' the high court notification had stated. The move did not sit well with the Karkardooma Court lawyers and other trial court lawyers, who had flagged confusion in recording evidence, lack of virtual facilities and connectivity issues as their main problems.
Indian Express
05-07-2025
- Business
- Indian Express
‘How do we earn a living?': On strike, Karkardooma Court lawyers oppose shifting of digital courts
Protesting the decision to shift the judges of 34 digital NI Act (Negotiable Instruments Act) courtrooms that hear cheque bounce cases from six court complexes in Delhi to the Rouse Avenue court complex, lawyers at the Karkardooma Court complex decided to abstain from work for a fifth day straight on Friday. The lawyers have been on a hunger strike for the last two days. 'First, our labour courts were shifted, now our cheque bounce courts have been shifted…we are not fancy lawyers. How do we earn a living?' advocate V K Singh, president of the Shahdara Bar Association (SBA), told The Indian Express. 'All the lawyers in our courts are people residing in the Trans Yamuna (areas). Some of us barely get Rs 20-30,000 for an entire case. Many of us are dependent on cheque bounce cases. Is this justice at your doorstep? Things were running smoothly… but now we are all anxious,' Singh said. Of the 34 courtrooms, nine are from Dwarka, seven from Tis Hazari, six from Saket, five from Karkardooma Court, four from Rohini, and three from Patiala House Court. While the judges of the respective courtrooms will be shifted to Rouse Avenue Court, the court staff (readers, ahlmads and stenographers) will continue to operate from their respective districts. The rooms for the 34 judges have been allocated on the seventh floor of the Rouse Avenue court complex, which is situated near the ITO Metro station in Central Delhi. Earlier, the coordination committee of all district court bar associations had decided to abstain from work. On June 7, however, they called off their strike after the Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court assured them in a meeting that all digital courts would function strictly as digital platforms only and that all the remaining proceedings and judicial work would be conducted exclusively in the regular local courts. In a May 30 notification, the Delhi High Court, which is behind the move, cited 'optimal utilisation of available infrastructure and resources' and 'inadequate space' to justify the shift of digital cheque bounce courts. 'The remaining arrangement, including support staff deployment and recording of evidence from the respective District Court Complexes, shall continue as per the previous directions/practice until adequate and permanent space is made available in the District Courts concerned to which these Digital NI Act Courts ultimately belong,' the notification dated May 30 read. 'However, these Courts shall continue to be under the administrative control /supervision/ jurisdiction of the districts concerned to which these courts belong. The readers, ahlmads, and judicial records of these Digital NI Act Courts would also continue to function from their original districts so as to avoid any inconvenience to the litigants, lawyers, and stakeholders,' the notification added. This notification was not enough to quell the anxiety of the lawyers in Northeast Delhi's Karkardooma Courts. 'Shifting of digital courts for lack of infrastructure violates the territorial jurisdiction jurisprudence,' said advocate Paras Jain, who practises in Karkardooma Court. 'If any litigant or advocate wants to report anything of emergent nature physically to the judge, they will not be able to communicate this…there is still confusion as to how evidence will be recorded before the judge sitting at Rouse Avenue Court,' he added. 'Lack of virtual facilities also creates gaps between the judges and litigants.' In a notice dated July 4, the lawyers of SBA decided to abstain from work on Saturday. 'It has been unanimously resolved by the Executive Committee of Shahdara Association (Regd.)., to abstain from work on 04.07.2025 in Karkardooma Courts, Delhi,' the notice read. 'It is further resolved that the Executive Committee of Shahdara Bar Association (Regd)., and its members shall continue the Hunger Strike from 05.07.2025 near Facilitation Center as a mark of protest against shifting of Digital Court, N.I. Act,' it added. 'Hence, all lawyers are requested to Co-operate & not to appear before any court either physically or virtually. In case any lawyer is found appearing physically or virtually in any court strict action shall be initiated against him/her,' the notice stated with a request urging judges to cooperate and not pass any adverse orders. Of the 15 lakh pending cases—2 lakh civil and 13 lakh criminal—across the capital's lower courts, 4.5 lakh, or over 30 per cent, are cheque bounce claims.
India Gazette
06-06-2025
- Politics
- India Gazette
Delhi district court lawyers to abstain from work on June 9 in protest against relocation of Digital NI Act courts
New Delhi [India], June 6 (ANI): The Coordination Committee of All District Courts Bar Associations of Delhi has unanimously decided that advocates will completely refrain from judicial work on Monday, June 09, 2025, in all district courts of Delhi. 'All the members are therefore requested to kindly cooperate and abstain from judicial work, stated the press statement issued by the Advocate Tarun Rana, Honorary Secretary of New Delhi Bar Association. This decision is in protest against the relocation of Digital NI Act Courts to Rouse Avenue Court, expressing strong discontent and firm opposition to the move, the statement read. Recently, Delhi High Court Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya inaugurated 34 digital courts at the Rouse Avenue District Courts complex, dedicated exclusively to handling cases under the Negotiable Instruments Act in the national capital. Praising the infrastructure and technological advancements, Justice Upadhyaya emphasised the importance of judicial officers working for the people's cause, calling the initiative 'laudable.' He urged judges to exercise their jurisdiction with a sense of duty rather than being 'power-charged.' The 34 digital NI Act courtrooms, which specialise in cheque bounce cases, have been relocated from six court complexes across Delhi to the Rouse Avenue court complex. Among them, nine were shifted from Dwarka, seven from Tis Hazari, six from Saket, five from Karkardooma, four from Rohini, and three from Patiala House Court. (ANI)
Indian Express
05-06-2025
- Politics
- Indian Express
34 digital cheque bounce courts in Delhi move to Rouse Avenue complex, minus staff
The judges of 34 digital NI Act (Negotiable Instruments Act) courtrooms, which hear cheque bounce cases, across six court complexes in Delhi have been shifted to the Rouse Avenue court complex. However, the court staff (readers, ahlmads and stenographers) will continue to operate from their respective districts. Of the 34 courtrooms, nine are from Dwarka, seven from Tis Hazari, six from Saket, five from Karkardooma Court, four from Rohini, and three from Patiala House Court. On Friday, Delhi High Court Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya inaugurated the 34 digital courts at the Rouse Avenue complex to exclusively hear cases under the NI Act. An administrative order passed by Principal District and Sessions Judge and Special Judge Kanwal Jeet Arora of Rouse Avenue Court read: 'The following judicial officers shall occupy and hold their courts in court room numbers mentioned against their names with immediate effect.' 'As per the directives of the Hon'ble High Court of Delhi, New Delhi, vide notification… dated 30.05.2025, the courts shall continue to be under the administrative control/supervision/ jurisdiction of the districts concerned to which these courts belong,' the order dated May 31 stated. This essentially means that while the court staff will operate from their respective districts, all judges will have to sit in Rouse Avenue Court. All rooms have been allotted on the seventh floor of the court complex, which is situated near the ITO Metro in Central Delhi. In a May 30 notification, the Delhi High Court cited 'optimal utilisation of available infrastructure and resources' and 'inadequate space' to justify the move. 'The remaining arrangement, including support staff deployment and recording of evidence from the respective District Court Complexes, shall continue as per the previous directions/practice until adequate and permanent space is made available in the concerned District Courts to which these Digital NI Act Courts ultimately belong,' the notification read. 'However, these Courts shall continue to be under the administrative control/supervision/jurisdiction of the concerned districts to which these courts belong. The readers, ahlmads, and judicial records of these Digital NI Act Courts would also continue to function from their original districts so as to avoid any inconvenience to the litigants, lawyers, and stakeholders,' it added. 'We are being told that only judges have been moved to Rouse Avenue Court, but a circular outside a courtroom states that all matters will be physically taken up at Rouse Avenue,' Dhir Singh Kasana, advocate and former Saket Bar Association secretary, told The Indian Express. 'If lawyers situated in Saket have to travel to Rouse Avenue, it will cause a big problem… There should be some clarity. There are no chambers in Rouse, while we have those in Saket. There was no space crunch in Saket Court…these courtrooms already existed in our district,' said Kasana. At court complexes across Delhi, 800 judges are hearing close to 15 lakh pending cases (2 lakh civil and 13 lakh criminal). Of these, 4.5 lakh or over 30 per cent are cases related to cheque bounce claims. On any given day, NI Act courts hear a minimum of 50 cases and a maximum of 200 cases, and have six times the average pendency of other courts. As per the Act, cheque bounce cases ought to be disposed of within six months. The staff in the NI Act courts are among the most burdened across Delhi's judiciary. 'Twice a month, we might have to travel to Rouse. In case a judge asks for a document or case file, we might have to physically deliver it,' a court staff member told The Indian Express.
