''Oral mentioning for listing of urgent matters in SC likely to be done away with''

Tribune News Service
New Delhi, January 23

Oral mentioning for listing of urgent matters in the Supreme Court will soon become a thing of the past. Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi on Wednesday said the top court was in the process of devising a mechanism to ensure automatic listing of a fresh case for hearing within four days of filing.

If a case can't wait for four days, lawyers can mention their petitions for urgent listing before the Supreme Court's registrar.

"We are working on a system in which a matter after filing automatically comes up for hearing within four days. If the matter can't wait for four days then you (lawyers) all can mention your case before the registrar for urgent listing. Then we will look into the petition. We are working on that system," the CJI told a lawyer after he mentioned a case for urgent listing.

CJI is the master of the roster. Cases filed in the Supreme Court generally take up to seven days before being listed for hearing. Lawyers or litigants seeking urgent hearing or relief, mention their petitions before the CJI for urgent listing.

On his first day in office as CJI, Justice Gogoi had on October 3 last made it clear that fresh parameters would be worked out for mentioning the 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, and 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)."