Supreme Court notifies fresh procedure for listing urgent matters

To seek urgent listing of a matter, a party must file the mentioning pro forma and a letter of urgency by 3 p.m. before the day on which the listing is requested, says the Supreme Court in its fresh procedure for mentioning of matters requiring urgent attention of the court.

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THE Supreme Court on Wednesday notified fresh procedure for mentioning of matters which require urgent attention of the court.

The court is slated to resume hearings by regular Benches on July 3 after the conclusion of court vacations, which is when the procedure will be adopted.

As per the new procedure on miscellaneous fresh matters, filings which are verified on Saturday, Monday and Tuesday will be automatically listed on the following Monday.

Also read: Mentioning in Supreme Court requires urgent revision

The Supreme Court also released a new roster of work yesterday, which is decided by the Chief Justice of India (CJI). The roster of work is categorised by subjects such as criminal, arbitration, service, tax, contempt of court and public interest litigation (PIL) matters.

The CJI's courtroom, along with those led by Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Sanjiv Khanna, will hear PIL matters.

Urgent listing

If a matter requires urgent attention of the Supreme Court and is covered under one of the categories defined in the court's January 2019 circular, then the same shall be permitted only after registration or verification of cases.

To seek urgent listing, the mentioning pro forma must be submitted along with a letter of urgency to the mentioning officer by 3 p.m. one day prior to when the listing is requested. A list of such cases will be prepared by the mentioning officer.

In case of an exceptionally urgent matter, which is required to be taken up at the earliest, the mentioning pro forma and the letter of urgency must be handed over to the mentioning officer by 10:30 a.m. on the day the listing is requested.

The letter of urgency must indicate why the matter cannot be mentioned along with other urgent cases on the next day.

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The mentioning officer shall place the mentioning pro forma and the letter of urgency before the registrar (judicial administration) for seeking orders of the CJI during lunch recess or as the exigency may warrant.

Once the mentioning pro forma and the letter of urgency are submitted, the mentioning officer, after checking the status of the matters, will prepare two separate lists to place before the registrar (judicial administration):

1. List relating to cases which are not to be deleted from being listed on the assigned dates; and
2. List relating to cases where no coram or date has been assigned.

In respect of matters not to be deleted, the registrar (judicial administration) shall notify the list after seeking instructions from the CJI to place them before the concerned Bench for mentioning.

In respect of matters where no coram or date has been assigned, the registrar (judicial administration) shall obtain the coram from the CJI and include such cases in the mentioning list of the Benches, as assigned.

It has been clarified that no mentioning of cases other than those notified in the mentioning lists published on the previous day shall be permitted.

The circular dated June 28, 2023 bears the signature of registrar (judicial administration) Puneet Sehgal and registrar (judicial listing) Pavanesh D.

Categories of matters to be treated as being of urgent nature for listing

Matters for urgent 'listed mentioning' shall be considered as per the Supreme Court's circular dated January 23, 2019, as follows:

• Matters in which death penalty has been awarded;
• Petition for habeas corpus and matters relating to it;
• Matters relating to imminent apprehension of demolition of property;
• Matters relating to dispossession or eviction;
• Matters for anticipatory bail and matters filed against Orders refusing or granting bail;
• Matter relating to admission in educational institutions— where schedule for admission in any educational institution is going to close and session is yet to start;
• Matters relating to contempt of court— where a specific date has been fixed by the high court for reporting compliance;
• Election matters— where the notification has already been issued and the last date fixed for filing of nomination for or withdrawal from election is going to expire;
• Matters relating to leases, government contracts and contracts by local bodies— matters in which date of auction or bidding of tender has been fixed;
• Transfer petitions— seeking transfer of matters which are fixed for final hearing or for personal appearance;
• Matters in which date of auction or sealing of the premises is fixed or action for attachment of accounts or encashment of bank guarantee has been initiated;
• Matters pertaining to custody of child;
• Matters pertaining to medical termination of pregnancy;
• Interlocutory applications (lAs) filed in above mentioned categories of matters; and
• Any other matter which, in the opinion of the concerned registrar, requires listed mentioning.

If a ground not mentioned above is relied upon by an advocate, a list of such matters shall be prepared separately by the mentioning officer. Both lists will be placed before the registrar (judicial administration), who after obtaining due approval from the CJI, will notify the list of matters to be mentioned on the next day on the Supreme Court's website.

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Categories of matters not to be treated as 'urgent'

• Matters arising out of interlocutory Orders;
• Matters relating to remand Orders;
• Matters relating to pre-deposit of tax, penalty and so on;
• Matters arising out of life sentence or sentence for more than one year;
• Service matters involving transfer, reversion, dismissal or removal from service; 
• Transport matters, except those relating to cancellation of permits and needing urgent interim Orders;
• Matters relating to decrees and their execution;
•  Matters deleted due to excess matters;
• Pending matters;
• Fresh unregistered or unverified matters

When the Supreme Court resumes regular hearings next week, fifteen different Benches will hear fresh and pending matters, as per the roster.