Shashwati Chowdhury
Published on: July 28, 2022 at 20: 31 IST
It was brought to the Bombay High Court’s notice that some of the case’s crucial documents were not available with both parties, a Bench of Justices GS Patel and Gauri Godse made the same statement.
The issued order state that, “Indeed the trajectory of this matter is arguably a good example or instance of the now urgent and undeniable need for a regular protocol being established for scanning and digitalization.”
Two appeals from an insurance company against a Motor Accidents Claim Tribunal (MACT) award were being heard by the court because they had been restored after being dismissed for default. When the claimants moved an application for the MACT’s award for execution, the insurer, who was unaware of the dismissal, sought the restoration of the appeals.
The Court stated that as appeals are first appeals, they must be heard on both the law and the facts, and the evidence must be re-appreciated.
However, the Court noted the need to have records and papers digitised because some key documents, such as financial documents, were missing.
The Court gave one of the counsel permission to file an additional private paper book with a proper index after he said that he might have some documents.
The Court also gave the counsel permission to copy the records, but only after the registry had scanned them.