Kerala High Court Raps Commercial Court for Denying Certified Copies Due to Faulty Xerox Machine

The Kerala High Court has pulled up a commercial court for denying certified copies of arbitral records to litigants, citing a non-functional xerox machine.

Justice K Natarajan observed that certified copies are a legal right and cannot be withheld for such technical reasons. The petitioners had sought over 2,800 pages and offered to engage an external agency at their own cost, which the trial court rejected.

The High Court directed the trial court to allow external copying or provide soft copies within a week and criticised the failure to escalate the issue or seek temporary alternatives. (Nest Realities India (P) Ltd & ors v Kunnel Engineers & Contractors)