SC comes out with new mechanism of listing of fresh cases

The Supreme Court Wednesday came out with a new mechanism of automatic listing of fresh cases within three to seven days in a bid to do away with the system of mentioning of matters for urgent listing every day.

Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi had on January 23 said the apex court was devising a mechanism to do away with the process of mentioning of pleas and to ensure automatic listing of fresh cases for hearing soon after being filed.

"Fresh matters verified on Friday in the post lunch session, Saturday, Monday and Tuesday in the pre-lunch session i.e upto 1 pm shall be listed on Friday in the same week and those verified on Tuesday in the post lunch session, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday in the pre-lunch session i.e upto 1 PM be listed on Monday in the next week," said a circular issued on Wednesday by the apex court.

The new mechanism will come into effect on February 4.

The circular further said that final cause list of cases for Monday shall be published/uploaded on the website on prior Friday.

It said the list of business for Friday would be uploaded on Tuesday in the same week.

On January 23, the CJI had said if a matter cannot wait for four days, then lawyers can mention their petitions for urgent listing before the apex court registrar.

A mentioning is a process in which a lawyer or a litigant seeking urgent hearing or relief in his case after filing the petition mentions the matter for listing before a bench headed by the Chief Justice.

On October 3 last year, Justice Gogoi, after assuming the charge as the CJI, had made it clear that fresh parameters would be worked out for mentioning of matters for hearing of cases which require hearing on priority and urgent mentioning.

CJI Gogoi had then said "no urgent mentioning of cases will be allowed" till certain parameters are fixed for it. "We will work out the parameters, then we will see as to how mentioning will be done. If somebody is going to be hanged tomorrow, then we can understand the (urgency)".