ORDER

% 14.02.2024 I.A. 3553/2024 (seeking exemption from effecting advance service upon the Defendant)

1. Mr. Ranjan Narula, counsel for the Defendant, has appeared on advance service. Consequently, the present application is rendered infructuous and is disposed of as such.

I.A. 3551/2024 (seeking exemption from maintaining 4 cm margins and from filing uncertified/ dim/illegible documents)

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

3. The Plaintiffs shall file legible and clearer copies of exempted CS(COMM) 138/2024 Page 2 of 5 documents, compliant with practice rules, before the next date of hearing.

4. Accordingly, the application stands disposed of.

I.A. 3552/2024 (seeking leave to file additional documents)

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

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

7. Accordingly, the application stands disposed of.

I.A. 3554/2024 (seeking exemption from pre-litigation mediation)

8.Issue notice. Mr. Ranjan Narula, counsel for the Defendant, accepts notice.

9. Reply be filed within a period of two weeks from today. Rejoinder, thereto, if any, be filed within a period of one week thereafter.

10. Re-notify on 3rd May, 2024.

I.A. 3555/2024 (seeking additional time to file court fees)

11. For the grounds and reasons stated in the application, the application is allowed and additional six weeks’ time is granted to file court fees.

12. The application is disposed of.

I.A. 3556/2024 (seeking urgent directions to file documents and/or audio/ video recordings in a pen drive)

13. 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 drive. Rule 24 of Chapter XI of the Delhi High Court (Original Side) Rules, CS(COMM) 138/2024 Page 3 of 5 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.”

14. 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.

15. Disposed of.

CS(COMM) 138/2024

16. Let the plaint be registered as a suit.

17.Issue summons. Summons are accepted by Mr. Ranjan Narula, counsel for Defendant, who waives the requirement for Registry to issueformal summons. Let the suit paper-book be supplied