The Registrar General of the High Court of Kerala has communicated to the Director General of Prisons and Correctional Services that it had been decided to extend the e-filing facility of the High Court to the prison authorities, in order to streamline the digital processing of jail appeals and other petitions/applications seeking judicial remedy.

As part of this, a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) would be followed upon switching to the new system. In accordance with the decisions that followed a meeting that was held to address the issue of moving jail appeal and applications/petitions seeking parole and furlough in physical mode and to implement an efficient system for filing the same electronically, login credentials have been created for all 57 jails in the State. This has been done in the Case Management System (CMS) handled by the High Court, based on the details forwarded by the Technical Cell, Kerala Prisons and Correctional Services Department.

Besides, two separate SOPs were prepared by the Kerala State Legal Services Authority (KeLSA) and IT Directorate, High Court respectively detailing the procedures to be followed while adopting the new system. While the SOP prepared by KeLSA intends to establish uniformity across the jails with respect to the service of legal aid defence counsel lawyers, jail visiting lawyers, transmission of necessary documents for appeal to the High Court Legal Services Committee (HCLSC) and other ancillary matters, the SOP prepared by the IT Directorate, High Court aims to streamline the online filing of jail appeals using the CMS login credentials provided to the officer in-charge of the jail, says the communication.

Due to the absence of an electronic alternative, jail appeals, filed under S.424 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita 2023, and other petitions/applications seeking judicial remedy moved by prisoners are at present prepared in paper form and are sent to the High Court for filing, it says.