This means that some of the machines would find a place at Asia's biggest trial court complex, the Tis Hazari Courts, which hosts 151 courts, including at least 50 Sessions Courts, which disposes over 30,000 criminal cases a year.

The remaining Sessions Courts are housed at the Karkadooma court complex, the Patiala House and the recently constructed Rohini courts' building. The photocopiers, which have already been sanctioned by the Delhi Government, will be used to churn out enough copies of trial court records for the poor preparing to go for appeal in the higher courts of the land.

As of now, many poor convicts are unable to defend themselves properly at appellate stage in the Delhi High Court because their lawyers hardly have access to trial court records. Far worse, most of them are unable to afford a lawyer of their own choice and depend on the state Government for a counsel to represent their appeal in the higher courts.

Taking matters into hand, a Division Bench of the Delhi High Court led by Justice Mukul Mudgal recently observed that merely giving a copy of the trial court judgment would not suffice to prepare a proper case in the appellate stage for a poor person, and he/she ought to be given the entire copies of all relevant documents” used during trial.

The Bench's decision is with strong reference to a resolution passed jointly by senior judges and State Law Secretary on May 10 to supply a collection of trial

court documents, including chargesheet, exhibited documents of prosectuion and defence, witness statements, statement by accused, etc, free of cost to poor convicts.

“Though 20 photocopiers were required to be installed on or before August 1, 2007 in the Sessions Courts concerned... we are happy to note that the Delhi Government is alive to its constitutional obligation and has already sanctioned the requisite machines,” the court said.