The Supreme Court of India has introduced a new set of procedures that will take effect from December 1, changing how lawyers can seek urgent listings, make oral mentions, and request adjournments. The rules were issued through four circulars and are aimed at creating a more structured and transparent process for handling urgent matters.
Under the revised system, certain categories of cases connected to personal liberty or immediate interim protection will now be listed automatically. Petitions seeking regular or anticipatory bail, habeas corpus, protection from eviction or demolition, and similar urgent applications will be placed before an appropriate bench within two working days after verification. Lawyers will no longer need to make oral mentions to have these matters listed quickly.
The Court has also tightened the norms around oral mentioning. Senior advocates are no longer allowed to mention cases before a bench, and the responsibility for doing so has been shifted to junior or briefing counsel. This move is intended to reduce informal pressures within the courtroom and ensure a more level playing field for all practitioners.
For cases that do not fall under the automatic listing category, the Court has introduced a formal procedure that requires lawyers to submit a mentioning proforma along with an urgency letter. These documents must be filed by 3:00 p.m. on the previous working day, or by 11:30 a.m. on Saturdays, in order for the matter to be considered for early listing. In situations where the urgency cannot be accommodated through the regular process—such as imminent demolition or dispossession—applications may be submitted in a narrow time window between 10:00 and 10:30 a.m., but only if the urgency is genuinely exceptional.
Adjournment requests will now be subject to stricter scrutiny as well. Only unavoidable circumstances like medical emergencies or bereavement will be considered valid grounds. Lawyers must disclose the reason for seeking an adjournment, the number of previous adjournments taken, and must obtain consent from the opposing party. The request must be emailed to the designated registry address before 11:00 a.m. on the day prior to the scheduled hearing, ensuring that adjournments are processed uniformly rather than informally.
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