The Supreme Court has directed Advocates-on-Record (AoRs) to ensure that only coloured photographs are annexed to petitions and all accompanying documents filed before it.
The Bench of Justice Surya Kant (now Chief Justice of India), Justice SVN Bhatti and Justice Joymalya Bagchi recently held that it would not list a case if it were supported by a black-and-white image. The order was passed in the case – Dinamati Gomes & Anr. v. State of Goa & Ors. (SLP(C) No. 7944/2024).
Stressing the importance of visual evidence in pleadings, particularly in matters related to property, title disputes, and other cases where site photographs formed a substantive component of the record, the Bench observed that monochrome images were inadequate for judicial scrutiny.
It noted that photographs should be furnished with precise distance dimensions and supported by a conceptual plan, such as a sketch map or site schematic, to provide accurate spatial context and avoid ambiguity, adding that the requirement of a conceptual plan mirrored the site-plan methodology commonly relied upon in civil suits to furnish a coherent spatial narrative.
The top court of the country further ordered that even where photographs were uploaded through the e-filing portal or sent by email, AoRs must simultaneously submit hard-copy versions of the same colour photographs. Failure to comply would result in the case file being placed under the category of ‘defects not cured,’ it warned.
Earlier in September 2024, the Bench of Justice Surya Kant and Justice Ujjal Bhuyan had restrained the Registry from accepting black-and-white photographs without express permission, citing concerns that blurred or misleading images undermined the evidentiary value of pleadings.
The decision aligned with the Court’s broader mandate under the Supreme Court Rules to ensure that the record placed before it was accurate, reliable, and capable of facilitating fair adjudication.
The verdict also reflected the Apex Court’s ongoing project to modernise and standardise evidentiary practices, reduce the scope for factual misrepresentation, and enhance transparency in litigation.
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