The Rajasthan High Court has issued notice on a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by a practising advocate, seeking the establishment of an official WhatsApp channel of the High Court through which litigants, advocates, and members of the public could access consolidated updates relating to cause lists, e-filing, judgments, and orders. The matter is being heard by a division bench comprised of Justice Pushpendra Singh Bhati and Justice Bipin Gupta.
In the petition, the advocate asserts that since 2023 the Court has been making cause lists available via a Telegram channel, and also that the e-Courts portal associated with the Rajasthan High Court provides SMS notifications to the mobile number entered in a case file. These messages inform the concerned parties about hearing dates, case listings, or disposal of cases. The petitioner’s grievance is that these disparate channels create “avoidable friction,” since different information is disseminated via different channels, obliging users to monitor multiple platforms. To simplify and unify access, the petitioner seeks a dedicated WhatsApp channel that aggregates all case-related information in one place.
The petition also seeks ancillary directions: first, that rules be framed to allow advocates access to digitized copies of case files that are already pending in the High Court; second, that a mechanism be developed for obtaining “e-true certified” copies of all orders uploaded on the High Court’s website; and third, that when one of the respondents is a State department or State instrumentalities, an advance copy of the relevant order or judgment be served on the nominated counsel.
The PIL draws on precedents including an initiative by the Supreme Court in 2023 to establish a WhatsApp channel for all case-related information, and further points out that the Delhi High Court followed suit in 2024. The petitioner relies on these examples to demonstrate the feasibility and utility of such a channel.
In response, the Court has issued notice to the relevant parties demanding their response to the petition. The order does not yet grant the relief sought, but indicates that the Court will examine whether implementing a WhatsApp channel and framing rules for the other requests is appropriate.
0 Comments
Thank you for your response. It will help us to improve in the future.