The Delhi High Court emphasized the need for a seamless and efficient process for uploading fee bills of government empaneled lawyers on the Online Single Window System (OSWS) portal established by the Delhi Government.

The Court remarked that the OSWS should serve as a model for expediting the clearance of lawyers' fee bills, thereby minimizing unnecessary paperwork for government officials across various departments.

The Bench of Justice Prathiba M. Singh stated that the OSWS has been set up by the GNCTD for processing and payment of fee bills of advocates.

The Court said, "The said system ought to become a model for clearance of fee bills of the lawyers so that substantial paper work of the government officials in various departments may be avoided. In respect of fee bills, the process of uploading of bills and the Court orders displaying the appearance or any other document should be made smooth and without any glitches. This would also enable the verification of the bills in a faster manner."

During the hearing, the Counsel for the Delhi government reported that the OSWS portal is now operational and that the process of uploading bills has become significantly smoother. In response, the court directed all Delhi government departments to ensure the efficient functioning of the OSWS system.

The Court also stressed the importance of sensitizing relevant officials to ensure that once bills are submitted on the portal, they are processed strictly according to the Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) set by the Delhi Government.

The Court further said, "Considering the critical importance of the timely payment of advocates’ fee bills, all departments of the GNCTD ought to ensure that the OSWS system works efficiently, and the concerned Officials ought to be sensitised that once bills are submitted, they are processed strictly in accordance with the process prescribed in the SOP."

"Further, the timelines prescribed in the SOP ought to be adhered to strictly. API integration, which is stated to be pending, ought to be carried out expeditiously, in any case within a period of three months," the Single-Judge Bench added.

Additionally, the Court directed, "The Respondent No. 1-GNCTD, Respondent No. 2-Law Department, as also all the other departments, shall strictly follow their applicable SOPs in respect of uploading of electronic bills, timelines for clearing of bills so that the counsels are not inconvenienced." The Court also directed the NIC to continue to provide requisite support in running the OSWS portal so that any glitches and technical issues are fixed expeditiously and without any delay.

"If any grievances arise, parties are free to agitate the same in accordance with law," it said.

Furthermore, the Court recorded its appreciation for the cooperation given by the following organisations and individuals in the operationalisation of the OSWS:

1. Officials of the Law Department, GNCTD, and other departments, including the Principal Secretary (Law), Bharat Parashar, and Sanjay Kumar Aggarwal, who from time to time cooperated in the launch of the OSWS portal.

2. Officials of the NIC, especially Manie Khaneja, who helped in setting up, operationalisation and implementation of the OSWS portal.

3. Naushad Ahmed Khan and Sameer Vashisht, Counsels, who painstakingly followed up at every step in the larger interest of their colleagues at the Bar.

Cause Title: Anjana Gosain v. Government of NCT and Anr. [Neutral Citation: 2024: DHC: 5544]

Appearance:-

Respondent: Advocates Sameer Vashisht (ASC), Vanshay Kaul, Naushad Ahmed Khan

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Justice Prathiba M SinghDelhi High Court

Sukriti Mishra