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A petition in the Supreme Court has sought directions to the High Courts across India to adopt a uniform judicial code viz. procedure for case registration, use common judicial terms, phrases and abbreviations and make the court fee uniform. The petitioner contends that this will contribute to access to justice for the citizenry

The plea filed by Advocate Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay has alternatively sought direction to the Law Commission of India to prepare a report in consultation with the High Courts in order to make judicial terms, phrases, abbreviations, case registration and court fee uniform.

In addition to this, raising the issue of unequal court fees the plea states that, "Injury to citizens is extremely large because the court fees sought for similar types of matters, and that of similar valuation in different States under the jurisdiction of different high courts are different."

It is further submitted that the terminology used by different High Courts for different types of cases are not uniform. This non-uniformity causes inconvenience not just to the general public but, in many cases, to the advocates and the authorities as well.

Talking about the benefits of virtual hearing the plea has submitted that "Before virtual courts in India can become a reality, the legislature needs to frame laws to ensure privacy to protect sensitive data. There is a need to balance the interest of litigants, related parties to the cases, and the judiciary."

Case Title: Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay Vs. Union of India and Ors.