LUCKNOW, May 22 -- Providing relief to litigants, the Lucknow bench of Allahabad high court, as an interim measure, has directed that the charge of Rs 500 for photo identification by Bar Associations is not to be realised from them. In another interim measure, the court further directed the registry to accept affidavits sworn before public notaries, holding them valid under the Notaries Act, 1952, saying no rule prohibits their acceptance. Justice Pankaj Bhatia passed the order on May 19 while hearing a petition filed by M/s Rajdhani Inter State Transport Co., New Delhi, through its authorised signatory Sunil Kumar Magoo, challenging the requirement of photo identification for filing petitions. The court said that in the era where efforts are being made to promote digital India, "continuing with a regressive practice of the litigants travelling from far-off places solely for photo identification is, on the face of it, is retrogressive". The court observed that the practice had led the High Court Bar Association and the Oudh Bar Association to charge amounts "beyond the sanction of law, solely based upon resolutions." It remarked that "continuation of such a practice is neither desirable nor does it augur well for the temple of justice," which must function with the support of Bar Associations to fulfil the constitutional goal of providing "access to justice to all"....