Jharkhand High Court — case records, copies and RTI

A High Court is a public authority like any other for its administrative and non-judicial records — and its judicial records are, in any event, public through the copy-application route. The practice point is picking the right door: want the order or the judgment, use certified copies; want the file's movement, a listing decision's basis, or an administrative record, use RTI.

1. Door 1 — eCourts. Case status, causelists and orders for the High Court sit on the eCourts High Court services portal; the district judiciary of Jharkhand runs on the eCourts services at services.ecourts.gov.in. This is the tracking layer — no fee, no application.
2. Door 2 — certified copies. Orders, judgments and pleadings are taken as certified copies through the court's copy application process; the registry publishes a ready-list, so collection is verifiable without standing at a counter.
3. Door 3 — RTI. For everything the first two doors do not serve: file movement and notings, the administrative side of listing, recruitment and estate records, and the court's own compliance records.

1. The present stage of my copy application no. _____ dated _____,
   and the date by which the certified copy will be ready.
2. The date of the last hearing in Case _____ (type, number, year),
   the purpose shown, and the next date fixed.
3. The reasons for the delay in _____ (matter) beyond the
   timelines in the court's own rules, rule-wise.
4. A copy of the noting or file movement on my application for
   _____ for the past 30 days.
5. The name and designation of the officer holding the file.

Real example. Dr. Shrawan Kumar Pathak's certified copy of a pension-related order was “under process” for six weeks. Question 1 above brought back a reply showing the file had gone to the typing pool and returned unsigned — with the officer named. The copy was ready in four days; the reply itself was the prod.

• First appeal — within 30 days, to the appellate authority designated in the court's RTI framework; the procedure is on the court's Right to Information page.
• Second appeal — to the Jharkhand State Information Commission under Section 19(3), within 90 days.
• Judicial grievances — listing and listing-related grievances go through the court's own administrative channels; RTI runs alongside, not instead.

A word on the district judiciary: the High Court of Jharkhand supervises the subordinate courts of the State, but each district court is its own record-keeper — an RTI for a district-court file goes to that court's CPIO, not to the High Court. The eCourts services portal covers both layers for case status, so the tracking door is common even where the records are separate.

Yes — it is a public authority; judicial records are better taken as certified copies, and administrative records by RTI.

Copies of pleadings and orders are issued per the court's copy rules to persons with a lawful interest; RTI reaches records subject to the Act's exemptions, including privacy under Section 8(1)(j).

On the court's site and the eCourts High Court services portal — both free and updated.

RTI question 1 above, then the first appeal — copy readiness is a record, and the ready-list makes delay deniable-proof. Quote the copy application number and its date in both.

• All court-record guides
• Court case delay — the RTI route
• Chhattisgarh High Court — records and RTI
• The RTI Playbook book

• High Court of Jharkhand — official site, RTI page and certified-copy ready list
• eCourts — High Court case services

Last reviewed: 26 August 2026. The court's site, its eCourts services link and its Right to Information page were verified live this run.