PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court (PHC) on Wednesday directed PLD Publishers and Oratier Technologies (Pvt) Ltd. to resolve a technical issue that has led to the omission of footnotes from judgments uploaded on the PLD law website, terming the matter significant for the legal community.
A division bench comprising Justice Naeem Anwar and Justice Wiqar Ahmed, in its written order dated April 29, instructed both entities to “come up with a viable and effective technical solution” to ensure proper visibility of footnotes and references in online judgments.
The court emphasized that an accurate and complete digital publication would enhance the utility of the platform for lawyers and researchers.The directives came during the hearing of a pro-bono petition filed by Barrister Asad-ul-Mulk, who appeared as a litigant in person.
He argued that the omission of footnotes from digital law reports violates Sections 3, 5, and 6 of the Law Reports Act, 1875, which require publication of complete judgments of superior courts.
The petitioner cited provisions of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908, and Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898, maintaining that legal definitions of judgments and orders leave no room for excluding footnotes.
He contended that in modern legal writing, key reasoning, particularly the ratio decidendi, is often contained in footnotes, and their omission risks distorting judicial intent.Representing the federal and provincial governments, Deputy Attorney General Atif Nazir and Additional Advocate General Asad Jan appeared before the court.
Barrister Ibrahim Afridi, counsel for PLD Publishers, raised preliminary objections but acknowledged that the issue stemmed from a software fault and assured the bench that corrective steps were underway.The court appreciated the candid concession by the publisher’s side and observed that the issue could be resolved without coercive measures.It adjourned the hearing until June 9, directing PLD Publishers and Oratier Technologies to rectify the problem before the next date.
