Judgement To Be Signed And Sealed -SC

 

Mumbai: When ever a certified copy of order is applied to Bombay High Court the staff  supply it to applicant and writing sd in place of hon'ble Judge signature. When the question is asked with the section officer signing certified copy that under which rule the signatures of judge are hided in order then she said that there is probability of copying judges signature by persons so we are hiding judges signature since last 20 years approx. When applicant said to officer that Police will take action for this crime then officer said the it is SOP to mask judges signatures in order. As per visit many people said that many orders are unsigned and many are signed by no body has seen seal of judge in the order.  It can only be verified by certified copy. 

An RTI application was filed before BHC RTI department to know the provisions under which Hon'ble Judge signatures are hided then the PIO given whimsical reply that he did not understand the question. He also denied any such order or rule under which signature are masked . So no information is available at BHC RTI cell .

The Unsigned certified copy has no legal value as judgement is not signed and sealed . It can be called as draft of judgement . If a judgement is only signed and not sealed then also it can be called as draft . The Seal of Judge is important in judgement to call as judgement. Unsealed judgement is just a draft when judges share it with brother judges with signature  . 

A similar view has been reiterated by the Division Bench of the Bombay High Court in State of Bombay v. Geoffrey Manners & Co., AIR 1951 Bom. 49. The Bombay High Court had taken the view that unless the judgment is signed and sealed, it is not a judgment in strict legal sense and therefore, in exceptional circumstances, the order can be recalled and altered to a certain extent.

The Supreme court 3 judges bench said in the order Kushalbhai Ratanbhai Rohit & Ors vs State Of Gujarat on 6 May, 2014  that order must be signed and sealed . Judge can change his mindset any time before signing and he has power to do so in the interest of justice. If the certified copy is provided with unsigned order then it is true copy of judgement under section 76 of Evidence act . The officer provided the true copy of unsigned judgement without seal. The officer has no power to mask the signature as per law so he has provided true copy of unsealed and unsigned judgement in original as per record.

Public can file IA to hear the case again with proper legal opinion . 

Central Government Act

Section 76 in The Indian Evidence Act, 1872

76. Certified copies of public documents.—Every 1public officer having the custody of a public document, which any person has a right to inspect, shall give that person on demand a copy of it on payment of the legal fees therefor, together with a certificate written at the foot of such copy that it is a true copy of such document or part thereof, as the case may be, and such certificate shall be dated and subscribed by such officer with his name and his official title, and shall be sealed, whenever such officer is authorized by law to make use of a seal; and such copies so certified shall be called certified copies.—Every 3public officer having the custody of a public document, which any person has a right to inspect, shall give that person on demand a copy of it on payment of the legal fees therefor, together with a certificate written at the foot of such copy that it is a true copy of such document or part thereof, as the case may be, and such certificate shall be dated and subscribed by such officer with his name and his official title, and shall be sealed, whenever such officer is authorized by law to make use of a seal; and such copies so certified shall be called certified copies." Explanation.—Any officer who, by the ordinary course of official duty, is authorized to deliver such copies, shall be deemed to have the custody of such documents within the meaning of this section.

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Judgement To Be Signed And Sealed -SC

RTI QUESTION

 The Signature of Judges are masked or hided  in the certified copy by Bombay High Court Certified copy  department 

1. Information about the name of incharge registrar of certified department of OS and AS.

2. Copy of Order, rule or any under which judges  signature are masked in certified copies. 

3. Copy of such rules or any of para 2 certified by competent authority as per rule of law.

Registration Number /नोंदणी क्रमांक :	LAJDP/R/2023/60449
Name /नाव	Sapan Shrivastava
Date of Filing /भरणे तारीख :	15/06/2023
Status /स्थिती :	RTI REQUEST APPLICATION RETURNED TO APPLICANT /माहितीचा अधिकार विनंती अर्जदाराकडे परत as on 16/06/2023
Remarks :- Your online RTI application has been forwarded to Public Information Officer,Hon.ble, High Court, Fort, Mumbai -400001. vide this office letter No.RTI-2023/60449/ C.R.222/ desk 10, dated 15/06/2023 and copy of the same has been forwarded to you for information.
View Document /दस्तऐवज पहा :	Reply Document Not Attached
Nodal Officer Details
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