ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) has taken a definitive step towards a paperless judicial environment, mandating that all new cases filed before it must be accompanied by a complete digital copy of the case file, with immediate effect.

The directive was issued through an official circular by Additional Registrar (Judicial) Aijaz Ahmed following the full transition of the Chief Justice’s Court into an e-court under the leadership of Chief Justice Sarfraz Dogar.

Proceedings in the Chief Justice’s Court have gone completely paperless, with hearings now commencing using screens installed in the courtroom, supported by case management systems, online hearings and digital records.

The shift towards digitisation was witnessed by the additional attorney general, the deputy attorney general and Islamabad Prosecutor General Manzoor Jajja, who were present during the e-court proceedings.

Speaking on the occasion, Prosecutor General Manzoor Jajja remarked that the adoption of modern technology would help make case proceedings more transparent and expeditious, adding that lawyers and litigants were being provided with online access to judicial information.

Meanwhile, lawyers described the adoption of technology as a significant step towards aligning the delivery of justice with modern standards.

According to the circular issued with the approval of the chief justice, the concerned party or counsel must submit a complete, legible and properly arranged digital copy of the case file in the prescribed electronic format, alongside the original documents and prescribed paper books at the time of filing.

The responsibility for ensuring the completeness, legality, accuracy and proper sequencing of the digital case file rests solely with the party or counsel submitting the case.

The circular explicitly states that no hard copies of case files will be supplied to the offices of the advocate general, prosecutor general, the deputy attorney general or other similarly situated law offices. Such offices will instead be provided with digital copies through officially prescribed electronic means.

Furthermore, all digital case files and subsequent electronic documents must be transmitted solely through the court’s official electronic system. The transmission of confidential or case-related material through unauthorised or personal electronic media is strictly prohibited.

Where required under the applicable procedure, biometric verification of lawyers and litigants may be conducted through the Nadra e-Sahulat service for authentication and identity verification at the time of filing. Any document subsequently filed in a case must also be submitted in digital format.

The registrar of the IHC or other authorised officers have been tasked with issuing further administrative instructions, guidelines and Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for the effective implementation of the circular.

These SOPs will cover technical aspects, including electronic format, scanning quality, file size, file naming, authentication, uploading and transmission procedures, and the preservation of digital records. The detailed guidelines will be issued separately and made available on the official website of the Islamabad High Court.

Published in Dawn, September 25th, 2026