SURINDER SAKLANI Vs. HIGH COURT OF H.P.

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This is a petition filed under Article 226 of the Constitution by the petitioner, who is a practicing Advocate of the District Courts as well as of this Court for a direction upon the respondents to ensure that in compliance with Article 50 of the Constitution of India, the mechanism with respect to the issuance of certified copies of orders/judgments and other material relating to the District Judiciary of the State of H.PJ is transferred from the control of the Executive to the Judiciary. The petitioner has also prayed for other ancillary reliefs and incidental directions.

(2.) Reply has been filed by respondents No. 2 and 3 in which it has been repeatedly, in para after para, stressed that the functioning of the Copying agencies as at present with the Executive, at the level of the Deputy Commissioner in the District Headquarters and at the level of Sub Divisional Magistrate at the level of Sub Divisions has been working satisfactorily and that there is no need for transferring the control of the copy agencies from the Executive to the Judiciary.

(3.) During the course of hearing of this case, we were informed the both, with respect to the decided Judicial matters as well as the, current/pending Judicial cases at various hierarchical levels of the District Judiciary in the State of Himachal Pradesh, the task of issuing certified copies is undertaken and executed by the aforesaid Executive agencies because these agencies are the custodians of the Judicial records and these agencies receive the applications from the applicants desirous of obtaining the copies and these agencies issue the certified copies to such applicants.