Gujarat High Court Issues Modified SOP To Streamline Case Listing And Registry Scrutiny
The Gujarat High Court has issued a modified Standard Operating Procedure which will come into effect from February 02, to streamline case listing procedure, ensure speedier verification of matters and timely disposal. The notification states:"The number of cases being filed in the High Court of Gujarat has been constantly on the rise and listing of the cases is becoming acutely unwieldy....
The Gujarat High Court has issued a modified Standard Operating Procedure which will come into effect from February 02, to streamline case listing procedure, ensure speedier verification of matters and timely disposal.
The notification states:
"The number of cases being filed in the High Court of Gujarat has been constantly on the rise and listing of the cases is becoming acutely unwieldy. In order to meet with the ever increasing demand of listing of cases for hearing and considering for streamlining the listing procedures, ensuring timely disposal, transparency, accountability, consistency, making the process litigant and lawyer friendly and to meet the aspirations of stakeholders, a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for listing of cases before the bench of High Court of Gujarat is being mooted. The principal object to facilitate speedier verification of matters of the Stakeholders and more effective and convenient and for early listing of the matters before the Honourable Court is to strengthen the Court functioning and to make it transparent and rational, responsive and also for enhancing efficiency in the docket management for management for dispensing quality justice to the litigants"
Among various points, the SOP includes:
1. The documents attached with the Petition / Appeal /Application should match with the Annexures mentioned in the Index. The Petitioner/Applicant shall mark separate Annexure to each document and not mark multiple documents collectively as one Annexure.
However identical/ similar documents such as Rent receipts of different years, Revenue receipts of different dates, Village form No. 7/12 of different years etc. shall be permitted to be marked collectively as one Annexure but each page of the collective Annexure has to be paginated.
2. Index must contain the details/particulars as per the enclosed format (in the SOP). The date of the impugned order and Annexure of the impugned order be mentioned in the prayer clause.
3. In case the judgments/orders though pronounced or dictated in the open Court are not available as they are not uploaded on the website of the Court concerned, a clear Statement in that regard shall have to be made in the opening paragraph of the memo of the petition/appeal.
In the alternative, an exemption application may be filed alongwith the memo of the Petition/Appeal, making appropriate prayer.
Format of the Master Index is also provided along with the SOP.