Delhi High Court Directs Govt To Clear Pending Bills Of Lawyers, Fix Problems On Online Portal
The Delhi High Court has directed the Delhi Government to take steps for expeditious clearance of bills submitted by lawyers appearing on behalf of the Government, after counsel complained of repeated queries, non-issuance of Brief Transmission Forms (BTFs) and lack of clarity over the status of their bills.
Justice Mini Pushkarna directed the Delhi Government upload the status of pending bills on its Online Single Window System (OSWS) portal and ensure issuance of BTFs in cases where the order sheets record the appearance of the concerned counsel.
The Court was hearing two pleas, including the one filed by a Delhi Government's panel counsel, Anjana Gosain.
The petitioners, appearing in person, brought to the Court's notice the difficulties being faced by them while uploading bills on the Delhi Government's online single-window system.
The Court was told that multiple queries were being raised repeatedly without the bills being cleared.
Advocate Rishikesh Kumar submitted that out of around 500 bills submitted by him, queries had been raised in approximately 250 bills. He said that after one query was answered, another query was raised, resulting in the bills remaining uncleared.
Advocate Udit Malik submitted that in several cases, BTFs had not been issued. In the absence of BTFs, he said that the online portal did not permit uploading of the bills, despite him having appeared and defended the cases on behalf of the Delhi Government.
Another counsel, Divyam Nandrajog, submitted that while some bills were being passed, the majority remained pending. He also pointed out that the status on the GNCTD portal was not being updated, making it difficult for counsels to ascertain which bills had been cleared and which remained pending.
Appearing for the Delhi Government, counsel Tushar Sannu handed over two status reports to the Court and submitted that regular meetings were being held at the highest level under the chairmanship of the Secretary-cum-Divisional Commissioner (Revenue) to resolve the issue.
Delhi Government's Deputy Commissioner, North East District/Head Quarter-I, who appeared through video conferencing, submitted that regular steps were being taken to resolve deficiencies in bills submitted by counsels.
After considering the submissions, the Court directed the authorities to update the online portal so that it categorically reflects, against each counsel's name, the bills that remain pending.
The Court further directed that wherever BTFs had not been issued, administrative steps should be taken for their issuance if the relevant order sheets record the appearance of the concerned counsels on behalf of the Delhi Government.
It also directed the Delhi Government to evolve a mechanism for uploading bills on the online portal in cases where BTFs have not been issued.
The Court asked the Delhi Government to consider appointing a nodal officer from its Department of Law and Justice to coordinate with counsels regarding queries, submission of bills and removal of deficiencies.
“The respondent-GNCTD shall not seek physical copies of the BTFs, in cases, where BTF numbers have already been provided in the bills,” the Court said.
It also made the concerned Deputy Commissioner personally responsible for coordinating with the Revenue Department officials to ensure issuance of BTFs in cases where they are yet to be issued, based on the appearance of counsels reflected in the order sheets attached with the bills.
“Endeavour shall be made to clear the bills of the counsels expeditiously,” the Court directed.
The Court has sought a further status report before November 04, the next date of hearing, and directed the concerned Revenue Department official to remain present through video conferencing.
The Court has been monitoring the functioning of the online portal since 2021. In November 2023, it had directed the Delhi Government to immediate take steps for operationalizing the OSWS portal.
Later, in 2024, it observed that uploading of fee bills of government empaneled lawyers on the portal should be made smooth and without any glitches.
A coordinate bench had asked all departments of the Delhi Government to ensure that the OSWS system works efficiently. It had said that the concerned officials ought to be sensitised that once bills are submitted on the portal, they are processed strictly in accordance with the process prescribed in the Delhi Government's SOP.
Title: ANJANA GOSAIN v. GNCTD & other connected matter