Compliance with procedural rules is essential for the administration of justice, including the admissibility of electronic evidence in non-editable formats.

% 16.04.2024 CAV 178/2024

1. Since the counsel for Defendants have appeared today, the caveat stands discharged.

I.A. 8587/2024 (seeking exemption from filing certified/legible and true typed copy of the documents)

2. Exemption is granted, subject to all just exceptions.

3. The Applicant shall file legible and clearer copies of exempted documents, compliant with practice rules, before the next date of hearing.

4. Accordingly, the application stands disposed of.

CS(COMM) 317/2024 Page 2 of 6 I.A. 8589/2024 (seeking leave to file additional documents)

5. This is an application seeking leave to file additional documents under the Commercial Courts Act, 2015 .

6. Applicant, if it wishes to file additional documents at a later stage, shall do so strictly as per the provisions of the said Act.

7. Accordingly, the application stands disposed of.

I.A. 8588/2024 (seeking exemption from invoking pre-institution mediation) & I.A. 8586/2024 (under Order XI rule 1(6) of The Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 as amended by The Commercial Courts Act, 2015 read with Chapter IV of The Delhi High Court (Original Side) Rules read with Section 151 of The Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 for discover

8. Issue notice. Mr. Kunal Khanna, counsel accepts notice on behalf of Defendants.

9. Reply, if any, be filed within a period of four weeks from today.

Rejoinder thereto, if any, be filed within a period of two weeks thereafter.

10. Re-notify on 16th July, 2024.

I.A. 8591/2024 (seeking extension of time to file Court Fees)

11. For the grounds and reasons stated therein, the instant application is disposed of with the direction that the Plaintiff should furnish the deficient court fees within a period of two weeks from today.

I.A. 8590/2024 (seeking leave to file videos on a pen drive and/or CD)

12. The Plaintiff seeks the leave of the Court to place on record certain video recordings, which form the subject matter of the present suit in a pen CS(COMM) 317/2024 Page 3 of 6 drive. Rule 24 of Chapter XI of the Delhi High Court (Original Side) Rules, 2018 makes it clear that electronic records can be received in CD/DVD/Medium encrypted with a hash value. The said Rule is extracted below: -

• “24. Reception of electronic evidence -A party seeking to tender any electronic record shall do so in a CD/ DVD/ Medium, encrypted with a hash value, the details of which shall be disclosed in a separate memorandum, signed by the party in the form of an affidavit. This will be tendered along with the encrypted CD/ DVD/ Medium in the Registry.

• The electronic record in the encrypted CD/ DVD/ Medium will be uploaded on the server of the Court by the Computer Section and kept in an electronic folder which shall be labeled with the cause title, case number and the date of document uploaded on the server. Thereafter, the encrypted CD/ DVD/ Medium will be returned to the party on the condition that it shall be produced at the time of admission/denial of the documents and as and when directed by the Court/ Registrar. The memorandum disclosing the hash value shall be separately kept by the Registry on the file. The compliance with this rule will not be construed as dispensing with the compliance with any other law for the time being in force including Section 65B of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872.”

13. Registry may receive electronic record on CD-ROM so long as it is encrypted with a hash value or in any other non-editable format. The video recording contained in CD-ROM be placed in the electronic record of the present suit in a format which is non-editable, so that the same can be viewed by the Court during hearing.

14. Application is disposed of.

CS(COMM) 317/2024

15. Let the plaint be registered as a suit.

16. Issue summons. Summons are accepted by Mr. Kunal Khanna, counsel for Defendants. He confirms receipt of the suit paper-book and waived the requirement for formal service of summons by the Registry.

CS(COMM) 317/2024 Page 4 of 6 Written statement