Gujarat High Court Issues Notice For Destruction Of Certain Records From 2015–2022; Parties Advised To Collect Copies Before Deadline

The Gujarat High Court has issued a formal Notice to all concerned parties and advocates, informing them about the proposed destruction of judicial records under Chapter XV, Rules 162 to 169A(I) and (II) of the Gujarat High Court Rules, 1993.

In accordance with Rule 169A(II) of the Gujarat High Court Rules, the registry of the High Court has stated that “papers of Appellate or Original Side Stamp Numbered main matters alongwith its I.As. which are disposed of during the period from 01.01.2015 to 31.12.2022 by way of refusal of registration or which were rejected or dismissed for defaults or withdrawn before admission to the Register, are required to be destructed.”

The notice clarifies that such records are currently lying in the Record Room of the Decree Department/BB Section and are no longer required to be preserved under the applicable rules.

The High Court has cautioned the parties involved that “parties leave documents and papers with the records of following cases at their own risk”, and as such, they bear full responsibility for any destruction carried out in accordance with the rules.

As a final opportunity, the notice states that parties or their advocates may retrieve Certified Copies, Simple Copies, or Original Papers—provided these are not required to be preserved—by submitting a physical application in the prescribed format between April 15, 2025, and April 30, 2025, during office hours. Applications must be submitted to the Chamber of Mrs. Dipti S. Chauhan, Assistant Registrar/Court Master of the Decree Department.

The High Court has made it clear that no applications will be accepted or entertained after this window. Further, any requested copies or original documents must be collected on or before May 9, 2025, after which the records will be permanently destroyed.

Click Here to Read the Notice