PDF for court e-filing

Turn a petition, its annexures and scans into one e-filing-ready PDF: searchable, bookmarked to the index, numbered, under your court’s size limit, and PDF/A when your court prefers it.

Open PDF for court e-filing

What you can do

Merge the petition, annexures and scans into one file, in order.
Make scanned pages searchable in Hindi, Marathi and English.
Bookmark it to the index: NightOwl suggests bookmarks from headings such as ANNEXURE P-1, and makes a clickable index page from them.
Number the pages so the printed number matches the page in the PDF, or add Bates numbers.
Choose your court’s limit (Delhi High Court 300 MB, District Court 20 MB): a file over it is named, with Compress and Split under the limit.
Download as PDF/A, checked to the standard.
Sign with your DSC on a USB token, through NightOwl Signer for Windows.

How to do it

Open PDF for court e-filing and choose the petition, annexures and scans, in order.
Let NightOwl read the scanned pages, then check the bookmarks and add the index (Organize).
Add page numbers, choose your court’s e-filing limit, and tick Make downloads PDF/A if your court prefers it.
Download. Before the file is made, NightOwl checks the bundle and names anything e-filing rules turn away.

Good to know

Rules change: check your court’s current notices before filing.
The court-bundle index and Bates numbers: 5 files a week with a free account (from Monday); the trial and Professional have no weekly limit. Plain page numbers are always free.
Sign with DSC needs NightOwl Signer, a Windows app from the Microsoft Store, and your USB token.
Works in your browser. Scans you choose to read on our India server aren’t kept. Private mode keeps everything on your device.
Tested with a 520-page, 128 MB scanned bundle on a laptop. Very large files need a computer with enough memory; phones manage less.

What the courts ask for

Delhi High Court: the e-Filing Rules of the High Court of Delhi 2021 ask for an OCR-searchable PDF or PDF/A, and say PDF/A is the preferred format (rule 6.2). Scanned documents are to be scanned at 300 dpi (rule 6.3), merged into one file bookmarked to the master index (rule 8.1), and not watermarked or encrypted (rule 8.7). File names may be at most 45 characters (rule 8.6).

A circular of 26 July 2024 told the filing staff to check that every page is scanned at 300 dpi and searchable, and not to accept screenshots. Since 7 February 2026 an e-filed file may be up to 300 MB in the High Court and 20 MB in the District Courts (notification of 24 January 2026).

Supreme Court: its handbook asks for documents converted into PDF/A, and its e-filing help gives 50 MB as the largest file. NCLT has required OCR-searchable PDF or PDF/A, 300 dpi scans and bookmarks since 1 January 2024 (order of 22 December 2023).

Rules change: check your court’s current notices before filing.

Questions

Which courts does this suit?

Any court that asks for one searchable, bookmarked PDF. NightOwl knows the size limits of the Delhi High Court (300 MB) and District Courts (20 MB); for any other limit, Compress Under a size and Split PDF take the size you type.

Can I bring a scanned bundle under my court’s limit?

Yes. Compress has Under a size: type the limit, and NightOwl keeps the best quality that fits, with the text still searchable. If it cannot fit while staying readable, Split PDF cuts it into parts under the limit.