The Delhi High Court has directed the Government of NCT of Delhi (GNCTD) to streamline the processing of bills submitted by counsels and ensure that pending bills are cleared expeditiously.
The directions were issued by Justice Mini Pushkarna in petitions concerning difficulties faced by advocates while uploading and getting their bills processed through the GNCTD’s online single-window system.
Background
The proceedings arose from complaints that counsels were repeatedly facing queries regarding their bills without their claims being cleared. One advocate submitted that out of around 500 bills, queries had been raised on approximately 250, with further queries being generated even after earlier ones were answered.
The Court was also informed that Brief Transmission Forms (BTFs) had not been issued in several cases. Since the online portal required BTFs for uploading bills, counsels said they were unable to submit claims for cases in which they had appeared for GNCTD.
GNCTD informed the Court that regular meetings were being held at the highest level to resolve the issue and that steps were being taken to address deficiencies in the bills.
The Court directed the Government to update the online portal so that the status of pending bills is clearly reflected against each counsel. It further directed administrative steps for issuing BTFs wherever the order sheets establish the appearance of the concerned counsel.
The Court also directed GNCTD to develop a mechanism for uploading bills where BTFs had not been issued and consider appointing a nodal officer from the Department of Law and Justice to coordinate with counsels regarding queries, bills and deficiencies.
The Court further directed:
“The respondent-GNCTD shall not seek physical copies of the BTFs, in cases, where BTF numbers have already been provided in the bills.”
Justice Mini Pushkarna made the concerned Deputy Commissioner responsible for coordinating with Revenue Department officials to ensure issuance of pending BTFs and directed that efforts be made to clear the counsels’ bills expeditiously.
GNCTD was directed to file a status report before the next hearing, with the matters listed for consideration on November 4, 2026.
Case Details:
Case Title: Anjana Gosain v. Government of NCT & Anr. with with connected applications
Case Number: W.P.(C) 2506/2019, with connected applications
Judge: Justice Mini Pushkarna
Decision Date: September 9, 2026
