MP High Court Orders Third-Party Audit After New Website "Wastes Judicial Time"

The Madhya Pradesh High Court's Jabalpur Bench has come down heavily on the state of e-hearing infrastructure at the High Court, directing an independent technical audit of its IT systems after a hearing was disrupted by persistent glitches on the newly launched website.

A Division Bench of Justice Vivek Agarwal and Justice Avanindra Kumar Singh was hearing a criminal appeal, when the proceedings ran into trouble because the court's website could not support e-hearing. Shri Alok Vagrecha, appearing with Shri Abhinesh Soni for the appellant, was before the bench along with Shri Veer Vikrant Singh, Deputy Advocate General for the State, and Shri Ashok Kumar Chourasia, counsel for the objector.

At the outset, Vagrecha sought withdrawal of I.A. No.11051/2026, a second application seeking suspension of sentence and bail for appellant Aditya Soni, with liberty to argue the appeal finally. The bench allowed the withdrawal, and the application was "dismissed as withdrawn." The appeal itself was directed to be listed for final hearing in Part-B of the cause list, as per its turn and seniority.

It was at this point that the bench turned its attention to the malfunctioning website, an issue that appears to have been troubling the court and the bar for some time. The order records, "That the High Court Website is not support e-hearing. There are several glitches in the website." The court noted that it had asked Mr K.S. Kushwaha, Registrar (IT-CSA), to assist, and that he was "reported to be on his way to the Court." Even so, the bench said it took "a very serious view that our judicial time has been wasted due to incompetency of the I.T. Staff," and asked that "Hon'ble the Chief Justice take action against the concerned I.T. Staff."

The order goes on to note that the Acting Chief Justice had, weeks earlier, shared a WhatsApp message with all judges stating that the website's updation would take eight days, a message dated 25/26 August, 2026. "More than 15 days time has lapsed since then but the condition of the website is far from satisfactory," the bench recorded, adding that lawyers appearing before the court had also voiced their frustration in open court, submitting that "old website was better" than the newly launched one.

Taking a firm view of the matter, the bench directed that a detailed enquiry be conducted and that Kushwaha furnish reasons "as to why obstacle is being caused to the working of the High Court." It further ordered that "action be taken against the delinquent" and that the outcome of the enquiry be reported back to the bench within seven days from the date of the order.

Going a step further, the court directed that a team of experts from established technology companies, naming Tata Consultancy Services, Infosys and L&T Technology Services, be roped in to conduct an independent audit of the High Court's IT system. This third-party audit, the bench ordered, must be completed within 30 days, with a detailed report placed before the court thereafter.

The bench also directed that the audit team could include officers from C-DOT, the Centre for Development of Telematics under the Government of India, as well as from MASSCOM, the Madhya Pradesh Association of Computer and Communication Companies, to widen the technical expertise available for the exercise.

In what appeared to underline the bench's frustration, the order records that the system was tested again later in the day, this time in the presence of Kushwaha himself, and that even then, "there are lot of buffering and hanging issues."

Case Title: Aditya Soni vs The State of Madhya Pradesh

Order Date: September 8, 2026

Bench: Justice Vivek Agarwal and Justice Avanindra Kumar Singh