ISSUE OF MANDATORY E-FILING IN MADRAS HIGH COURT

ISSUE OF MANDATORY E-FILING IN MADRAS HIGH COURT INTRODUCTION 

The E-filing system is an online platform developed for the filing of Plaints, Notice, Petitions, Written Statement,Writ petition, legal works documents which was previously done by traditional method of filing in court premises. This system helps Lawyers/Advocates in filing the documents from anywhere and anytime. 

The E-filing system was introduced from the basics of Information Technology(IT) Act,2000 as a way to incorporate the Information and Technology(ICT) into the Indian Judiciary system by forming a National Policy and Action Plan for Implementation of Information and Communication Technology. This article sheds light on the progress,Practical Difficulties and the implication Hardships of the E-filing System of the Court with reference to E-filing System issue in Madras High Court. 

WHY E-FILING SYSTEM IN COURT IS IMPLEMENTED 

The E-filing System was introduced to incorporate technology and take advantage of the available technology to make the work easier and easier to access the documents as this is a paperless filing and cost effective.This system reduces the physical paper work which in turn reduces the hustle of storing piles of documents and tracking down any documents will be much easier if it is in digital format. The case filing can be done 24/7 rather than the filing in the court hours which is in practice.Both civil and criminal cases can be filed in all high courts and District courts. So, The Madras High court has made the E-filing of the case mandatory. 

ADVANTAGES and DISADVANTAGES 

The E-filing system was implemented as it has various advantages or benefits in the Judiciary System (1)The E-filing will reduce the maintenance and storage of piles of paper work (2)ease in accessing the documents. (3)reduces time as cases can be filed from anywhere and at any time. (4)Reduces long wait time for case filing in court. (5)No missing documents. 

Although this system has various advantages it has some issues while implementing (1)Lack of technical knowledge (2)Inadequate resources in courts. (3)Cyber security risks and data breaches. (4)

CHALLENGES FACED 

The Madras High court formed “Madras high court E-filing Rules 2020” as per the supreme court E-filing and E-filing committee. Many Litigators and People have faced challenges due to the mandatory E-filing System.The District courts and the Litigators/people in Rural areas lacked the adequate infrastructure for E-filing. and most of the times the litigators faced technical issues in E-filing. For many years the case filing was done physically in court premises and this mandatory E-filing has made case filing difficult for senior advocates and the people who lack technical knowledge. 

LEGAL FRAMEWORK 

The Madras HighCourt framed “Madras High Court E-Filing Rules 2020” with reference from the already existing supreme courts E-filing rules.The madras high court is the superior court in Tamilnadu and Pondicherry.This Enables the madras high court to implement the E-filing. 

JUDICIAL INTERPRETATION 

The Honourable Madras High court has made mandatory E-filing from September 24,2025. The Madras High Court Advocate’s Association(MHAA) has Filed a Public Interest Litigation(PIL) listing the issues within implementing Mandatory E-Filing. As per the request of the bar association of Tamilnadu and Pondicherry The Chief Justice postponed the mandatory E-filing date from October 8,2025 to December 1,2025. 

The Madras High Advocate’s Association(MHAA) boycotted the court work. On continuous boycott of court work by litigators, The Madras High Court made the decision to keep mandatory E-filing on hold until further orders. 

CRITICAL ANALYSIS 

The implementation of E-Filing should be implemented after considering the PIL petition filed by the bar association.The E-filing system cannot be ignored completely, it is necessary to incorporate and make use of the existing technology to make the work easier and better.There are various challenges in implementing the mandatory E-filing but considering the advantages, the challenges should be addressed and the reasonable considerable and important problems can be addressed.

RESEARCH DEVELOPMENT 

The Chief Justice of Madras High Court has kept this mandatory E-filing on hold as the result of the protest.and this will be further heard on January 19th and it will be further decided about the implementation of mandatory e-filing. 

CONCLUSION 

The mandatory E-filing is an important progress in the case filing of the court as it has lots of advantages. The lack of knowledge and infrastructure alone cannot become a reason to avoid development or progress in a judiciary system.Every field requires constant learning to sustain and develop in that field. Upgrading is necessary to cope up with the developing technology so the court can provide time or can make it as a hybrid filing system till the litigators and people are educated and upgrade themselves and the infrastructure are made available for easy E-filing. 

REFERENCE(S): 

• Ministry of law and Justice,Government of India,Department of Justice-E-filing,https://doj.gov.in/efiling/ 
• The HIndu,Madras High Court Chief Justice keeps mandatory e-filing requirement in abeyance,https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/tamil-nadu/madras-high-court-chief-j ustice-keeps-mandatory-e-filing-requirement-in-abeyance/article70479245.ece
• Live Law,Bar Bodies Move Madras High Court Challenging Mandatory E-Filing In District Courts,https://www.livelaw.in/high-court/madras-high-court/madras-high-court-plea-mandatory efiling-district-courts-challenged-517103 
• File and Serve Express,Advantages of E-filing vs Physicalfiling,https://www.fileandservexpress.com/4-advantages-of-efiling-vs-physical-court-filin g/ 
• E-committee Supreme Court of India,e-Initiatives of Madras High Court, https://ecommitteesci.gov.in/project/e-initiatives-of-madras-high-court/?utm_source=chat gpt.com
• eFiling Services,Electronic filing of cases in the court, https://filing.ecourts.gov.in/pdedev
• The New Indian Express,Madras HC puts mandatory e-filing of cases in district judiciary on hold,https://www.newindianexpress.com/states/tamil-nadu/2026/Jan/07/madras-hc-puts-mandatory-e-filing-of-cases-in-district-judiciary-on-hold#:~:text=without%20much%20difficult ies.-,The%20petitions%20stated%20that%20lack%20of%20adequate%20infrastructure% 20is%20one,module%20for%20filing%20of%20cases.