Yes. Orders uploaded on the High Court websites have legitimacy and can be submitted in lower courts as if they are certified copies, without the need for them being Certified by the High Court Department.
In the matter of Shital Dhake v. Krushna Dhake it was held by Ravindra Ghuge J. of the Aurangabad Bench of the Bombay High Court that:
2. …the print out of the orders of this Court from the official website has sanctity and the trial Courts are expected to consider the said orders, if they are cited after taking a print out from the official website.The said orders are also available before the trial Court from the official website and there can be a counter verification to find out whether such an order is actually uploaded to the official website or not. In this backdrop, there is no harm if such a print out from the official website is placed before this Court. …
3. …It is informed by the learned Advocates that, in several cases before various trial Courts, the learned Judges insist on production of the certified copy of the order and they are not inclined to consider the print out of an order from the official website of the Bombay High Court, as being a reliable document. As observed in the foregoing paragraphs, in the event of any doubt in the mind of the learned Judge, it can be checked from the official website of the Bombay High Court as to whether such an order has been uploaded or not? Once the order is uploaded on the official website, it is a reliable document to be considered by the Court before whom it is cited.
This opinion was again confirmed by the Chhattisgarh High Court, Bilaspur in TAXC No. 172 of 2017, where the Court held that:
In Re: Acceptability of web copy of orders/judgments
7. Before parting we must address an important issue raised by Shri Maneesh Sharma, learned standing counsel for the Revenue, concerning the acceptability of the ‘web copy’ of the orders/judgments obtained from the official website of the High Court of Chhattisgarh i.e. ‘highcourt.cg.gov.in’.
8. The issue arose because Shri Maneesh Sharma, having armed with web copy of the order, was still reluctant to produce the same before us apprehending that the web copy may not be accepted by the Court. Shri Sharma carried this impression because, according to him, several Courts and the authorities are not accepting the web copy as authentic copy of the order/judgment passed by this Court.
9. Shri Maneesh Sharma, Shri Sandeep Dubey, Shri Parag Kotecha, Shri Vivek Chopda, Ms Swati Upadhaya, Shri Bharat Rajput, Shri Ashok Mishra, Shri Vivek Bhakta, Shri Virendra Verma, Shri C.K. Kesharwani, Shri Abdul Wahab Khan, Shri Shailendra Bajpai, Shri Abhishek Pandey, Shri R.K. Mishra, Deputy Advocate General, Shri P.K. Bhaduri, Govt. Advocate, Shri Wasim Miyan, Panel Lawyer, Shri Arvind Dubey, Panel Lawyer Shri Rajendra Tripathi, Panel Lawyer, learned counsels present in the Court also addressed on the aforesaid issue. They would request that since the web copy of an order/judgment obtained from the official website of the High Court of Chhattisgarh carries a watermark impression indicating ‘not official’, the trial Courts and subordinate authorities sometimes refuse to act upoSyllabus for Mumbai University’s 5 Year B.B.A LL.B. (Hons.) Degree Course done after 12th standard also known as the Integrated 5 Year BBA LLB (Hons.) Course now available at the University of Mumbai Law Academy (Both Kalina Campus and Thane Sub-Campus) implemented from the year 2016-2017.n the web copy, therefore, appropriate directions may be issued in this regard.
10. After hearing the leaned counsels for some time, their apprehension does not appear to be wholly unfounded, as we have come across several complaints by the Lawyers about the reluctance of the Courts and authorities to accept the web copy even for immediate purpose in urgent cases.
11. In order to set the matter at rest we hold that web copy of the orders/judgments passed by this Court as is available in the official website of the High Court of Chhattisgarh can be relied upon unless the opposite party raises a doubt about the authenticity of the web copy.
12. In taking this view, we are fortified with the view taken by a learned Single Judge of the High Court of Judicature of Bombay Bench at Aurangabad in Shital Krushna Dhake v Krushna Dagdu Dhake in Misc. Civil Application No.244 of 2017 (decided on 02.02.2018), wherein also an apprehension was raised that the trial Court may insist upon production of certified copy of the order passed by the High Court, despite production of the web copy. In the said circumstances it has held thus : …
…13. In view of the foregoing, we direct that the trial Courts and other subordinate authorities shall accept the web copy of the order/judgment in urgent cases where delay in production of the certified copy would result in miscarriage of justice or the person would be adversely affected, despite there being an order in his favour. In case of any doubt, suspicion or apprehension, the trial Court or the authority may verify from the official website of the High Court of Chhattisgarh to ascertain whether such an order/ judgment is actually uploaded to the official website or not.
I like that you said that it is important to produce a certified copy of your documents. My best friend told me that he is looking for a supreme court printing that can help him ensure that the highest court accepts his important documents, and he asked if I have any idea what is the best option to consider. Thanks to this informative article, I’ll be sure to tell him that he can consult a legal brief printing service as they can help him with his concerns.
Its very logical but some lower courts and tribunals insist on certified copy inspite of downloading from the official court site
Good Evening sir.
It has no information about the uploaded order copies in official web site of High Courts which you referred in the above case. please tell me the correct case number if it is there.