# PREPARATION, PRESERVATION AND DESTRUCTION OF RECORDS

- **Citation:** C.L. No. 3/VIII
- **Court:** Allahabad High Court
- **Decided:** 1951-01-11
- **Case number:** C.L. No. 3/VIII
- **Source:** https://unisonlegal.in/judgment/allahabad-high-court/preparation-preservation-and-destruction-of-records-163748
- **Pages:** 2

## Text

432

Orders fixing dates or adjourned dates for hearing or directing anything to be
done by the parties or their pleaders shall be signed immediately by the parties or their
pleaders.
6.
PREPARATION, PRESERVATION AND DESTRUCTION OF RECORDS
(i)
Paging and maintenance of record
C.L. No. 3/VIII h-21-51 dated 11th January, 1951

Papers in the lower court files used to be arranged and numbered from right to left
obviously, because the papers in the files used to be Urdu. But now since the court
language is Hindi the papers in the files should be numbered from left to right. No change
need be made in pending cases.
C.L. No. 10 dated 21st March, 1967

Assistants concerned should take care and precaution while stitching the records
so that original documents like sale deeds, mortgage deeds, etc. forming part of the
record are not torn, mutilated or damaged in any way.
C.L. No. 42/VII-d-65 dated 18th March, 1971
Instructions regarding proper maintenance of records as contained in Chapters V
and VII of General Rules (Civil) and Chapters IV and XI of General Rules (Criminal)
should strictly be followed.
C.L. No. 85/VIII b-37 dated 9th December, 1985

Attention of all the presiding officers is invited to the provisions of rule 4 and rule
13 of order XIII, Civil Procedure Code as well as to the provision of rule 57, General
Rules (Civil), 1957. These provisions as to the endorsement and marking of documents
must be strictly followed by the trial courts, while preparing records of the civil and
criminal cases.

The trial courts must exercise greater care in regard to the maintenance of the
records.
(ii)
Small Cause cases transferred and tried as regular suits
C.L. No. 81/VIII b-65 dated 25th July, 1952

When a small cause court case is transferred to another court and tried as a regular
suit, files B, C and D should be prepared as is done in other regular suits. But when the
records of such cases are consigned to the record room, they may be kept in the bastas of
small cause court cases to enable them to get more easily traced and to avoid the
confusion that may result from there being two regular suits bearing one and the same
number.

The period of destruction of such files should be the same as for those of regular
suits, viz. twenty years for file B, fifteen years for file C and three years for file D. To
prevent the possibility of file B of such cases being wrongly weeded out before the due
date, a label containing the date of destruction of each file in bold letters should be
affixed to the wrapper of each such record.
433
C.E. No. 70/VIII b-65 dated 31st October, 1966

As provided in rule 192 of the General Rules (Civil), 1957, Volume I, the
Panchayat Raj Act cases should be treated as miscellaneous judicial cases for the
purposes of arrangement, preservation and destruction of records and the weeding of
records of such cases may, therefore, be done in accordance with the provisions relating
to miscellaneous judicial cases.
C.L. No. 22/VIII b-65 dated 1st April, 1983

District Judges should see that after receipt of the notice issued by the Court under
rule 1 of Chapter XII of the Rules of Court, 1952, Volume I, about the admission of
appeal or revision, the lower court records of such cases are maintained intact till such
time as such appeals or revisions are finally disposed of by the court. A practical method
may be that after admission of the appeal under order 41 rule 13 of the Code of Civil
Procedure, 1908, the pendency of the appeal should be prominently noted on the file
cover of the record, so that ̳C' and ̳D' files may not be weeded out, even though the
period for maintaining ̳C' and ̳D' files in usual course has expired.
C.L. No. 2/VIII b-65 dated 2nd January, 1984

The District Judge should see that strict compliance of the provisions of First and
Second proviso to sub-rule (6) of rule 196 of the General Rules (Civil), 1957, Volume I,
is done by the presiding officers of the courts, with regard to maintenance of file ̳C' and
 ̳D' of the lower courts records.
(iii)
Records of petty criminal cases
C.L. No. 68/IV b-36 dated 1st April, 1977

The records of petty cases involving punishment not exceeding two years shall
not be consigned in the record room and shall instead be weeded out by the court itself
after the expiry of the period for filing appeal or revision if provided under the statutes
and in case of an appeal or revision having been filed, after its disposal, in accordance
with the periods for weeding mentioned in the rules.
C.L. No. 28/VIII b-65 dated 15th February, 1977

Weeding of files and papers should be done properly and strictly in accordance
with the rules so that shortage of space in the record room may not be felt.
(iv)
Classification of files in Hindi: ̳A', ̳B', ̳C' and ̳D'
C.L. No. 129/VIII-b-53 dated 13th December, 1952

The letters
 etc. should be used in place of letters ̳A', ̳B', ̳C', etc., or
(in Urdu), etc. with reference to the files on the record of a case.

The directions do not imply a general permission to the use of the letters
 etc. for the letters ̳A', ̳B', ̳C', etc. at the other places.
(v)
Preservation of freedom movement records
C.L. No. 74/X-e-3 dated 22nd December, 1954 read with
G.O. No. 5477-XXV-CX-278-1950 dated 1st December, 1954