Aastha Thakur
Published on July 30, 2022 at 20:31 IST
In the petition filed before the Kerala High Court, recently directed the Registrar (Judicial) to not accept any statements filed by lawyers merely on the basis of instructions received from their clients.
The Single-Judge Amit Rawal referred the provisions of the Code of Civil Procedure and the High Court Rules stating that affidavits have to be on the basis on information traced from official record. He also directed the Registrar to immediate effect stop accepting any statements filed by lawyers unless they are duly verified affidavits and contain information based on available official records.
The Court stated that, “The practice of filing the statement by the lawyer is not provided under the High Court Rules and Regulations. Registrar (Judicial) is directed not to accept any statement filed by the lawyers purported to be a reply or a counter to the pleadings of the writ petition.”
“It has to be a counter affidavit duly verified by the authorised officer and the information disclosed in the affidavit has to be on the basis of the official record available. In case such compliance is not made, this Court may be constrained to take disciplinary action against the officers as well as the staff of the Registry who are entertaining such statements.”
The application was filed regarding name of the petitioners’ father being mentioned incorrectly in their passports.
The respondents submitted that the matter shall be decided as per the statement & directions received from the Regional Passport Officer in a letter. On the basis of which it was submitted that at the time of submission of application, the birth certificates had the name as included in the passports that were issued later.
However, the affidavit did not disclose the actual documentation that whether the birth certificate was of the Registrar of Birth and Death or of some Municipality or local Panchayat.
The Court examined the birth certificates of the petitioners and noted that the respondents failed to place on record any material in support of the “statement”, which cannot be filed in the absence of any provision in the High Court Rules.
The Court observed that, “It is strange that the advocates on the basis of the instructions are filing the statement and that too, not in accordance with the provisions of the Code of Civil Procedure and the format prescribed under the High Court Rules, as for every department, affidavit has to be on the basis of the information traced from the official record and not as per the instructions.”
Therefore, the Court directed the Registrar to only accept affidavits that comply with the Rules and posted the matter for further consideration on August 1.