Litigants and lawyers are not required to visit court premises in person for photo verification when submitting writ petitions, the Allahabad High Court has ruled, affirming that affidavits notarized anywhere in India hold full legal validity for court filings.
A division bench at Lucknow, comprising Justice Alok Mathur and Justice Amitabh Kumar Rai, issued the ruling on Tuesday while dismissing a legal challenge against the court’s Photo Affidavit Identification framework.
Validity Of Local Notarisation
The court stated that the High Court’s Stamp Reporting Section receives and processes all legally valid affidavits without distinction, whether completed through the internal photo identification procedure or notarized before a public notary.
Constitutional Challenge To Filing Rules
The decision came in response to a petition filed by Biswajit Chowdhury, who alleged that the existing filing rules created an unfair distinction between citizens and government representatives. Chowdhury argued that requiring ordinary litigants to undergo in-person photo verification while exempting central and state government officials was arbitrary and violated Article 14 of the Constitution, which guarantees equality before the law.
Continuity Of E-Filing System
Rejecting the petitioner’s claims, the bench pointed out that the digital e-filing system introduced during the COVID-19 pandemic remains fully functional. This setup permits litigants across the country to file writ petitions and related legal applications online accompanied by affidavits notarized in their local jurisdictions.
The judges also highlighted an official Right to Information response previously issued by the High Court, which confirmed that duly notarized affidavits are accepted at the initial stage of filing. Because photo identification was never a compulsory requirement for submitting petitions, the bench concluded that the legal challenge was unwarranted and dismissed the case.
