By Sumit Saxena

A digital print and copy machine is being assumed as a danger by Central Agency Section office on the Supreme Court complex. The agency under Ministry of Law and Justice apprehends that the secret documents in the proximity of the machine are susceptible to breach in presence of the machine.

The machine, intended for bulk copying and printing, is deployed in a corner in the R K Jain Chambers on the Supreme Court complex. Many lawyers have their offices in the chambers block. Though, the machine is in a secluded corner near the exit, it is in the middle of four one-room offices of the Central Agency Section (CAS). Hundreds of files have been stacked in these rooms. Scores of officials are constantly moving in and out of these rooms. CAS acts like a facilitator on campus, for example, lawyer empanelled with the Centre can collect documents regarding their cases from the agency and immediately move into the SC complex. The presence of agency on the complex saves time for lawyer.

According to source in SC, the high-officials in the ministry have objected to the machine’s presence near its office. “The ministry believes that the secrecy of the documents is under direct threat, and safety of some extremely important documents could be compromised. But, a print and copy machine is very important for lawyers and general public, who visit SC everyday regarding their respective matters” said the source.

A lawyer speaking to India Legal on the condition of anonymity said that the SC is surrounded by many government building, CAS can easily move into any of these buildings. “It is not difficult for the government to get four rooms for the agency. In fact, very high legal officials of the government had to intervene to sort out this issue,” said the source.  India Legal has learnt that a consensus has been reached to shift the copy and print near a juice shop few meters away from the existing location, though it has not been made official yet.