Stop using banned Chinese apps for legal work: Circular to all officials in Delhi courts
The circular, issued on September 10 under the directions of the principal district and sessions judge, also directed officials dealing with the website of the Delhi District Court to find all uploaded documents that give the impression of having been scanned using Chinese apps.
A circular has been issued to all officials of the district courts in Delhi, directing them to immediately stop the use of banned Chinese applications such as CamScanner in uploading documents on the court website.
CamScanner was among the 106 apps with links to China that were banned by the Union government for being “prejudicial to the sovereignty, integrity and defence of the country”.
The circular, issued on September 10 under the directions of the principal district and sessions judge, also directed officials dealing with the website of the Delhi District Court to find all uploaded documents that give the impression of having been scanned using Chinese apps. All such files are to be uploaded again using a different app or cropped so as to remove the app watermark.
Since the nationwide lockdown in March, Delhi courts have been hearing cases virtually via video conferencing. That required lawyers and officials to scan all pertinent documents and email them to the parties and the judge concerned.
The circular also noted that some officials are forwarding copies of circulars, bail orders, daily orders etc after scanning them on Chinese apps, which is in violation of the Centre’s directions.
“It has also been noticed that some circulars and orders have already been updated on the official website after being scanned on banned Chinese applications,” it read.
In August, a Delhi court had asked a lawyer to avoid the use of banned app CamScanner in legal work. Additional sessions judge Sunil Chaudhary said the bail application, filed by advocate Praveen Chaudhary, was scanned using CamScanner.
“This is an application for grant of bail as received through mail. The application as filed is scanned using CamScanner which has been banned by the Government of India. The counsel is advised to avoid using banned apps for legal work in the future,” the court said on August 5.
On June 29, the IT ministry, while banning 59 mobile apps, had cited numerous complaints from various quarters, including reports about misuse of some apps for allegedly “stealing and surreptitiously transmitting user data in an unauthorised manner to servers located outside India”.