The Kerala High Court issued a warning to its registry, stating that disciplinary action will be taken if cases are not listed according to the prescribed roster. This move aims to ensure timely and orderly case management. The court emphasized the importance of adherence to the roster system.
Kerala: The Kerala High Court recently issued a stern warning to its registry officials, stating that disciplinary action could be taken against them if they fail to list cases as per the prescribed roster, unless otherwise directed by the Chief Justice.
The division bench comprising Chief Justice AJ Desai and Justice VG Arun emphasized that improper listing of cases would cause inconvenience to both the judges and the advocates. The court stressed the importance of maintaining a well-organized and efficient case management system to ensure the smooth functioning of the judicial process.
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The Bench stated,
“The office is obligated to present cases before the relevant Judge in accordance with the roster, unless directed otherwise by the Chief Justice. Any departure from this directive, leading to inconvenience for the Honourable Judges or Advocates involved, will result in disciplinary measures against the responsible officials,”
The appellants brought to the Court’s attention an issue regarding the listing of their appeal and related petitions. They submitted that their cases, initially listed before a single-judge on April 5, and the single judge ordered that all the cases be listed before the appropriate bench as per the roster. However, the appellants contended that some of the cases were still being listed before the same single-judge, despite the judge not having jurisdiction over them as per the roster. The single-judge then heard some of these matters and ordered them to be listed as “part heard.”
When matters are listed as “part heard,” the bench that initially listed them would be the only one to hear the matter until its conclusion, even if the bench’s jurisdiction changes.
The appellants argued that the single-judge should not have heard the matters, as the judge had previously ordered them to be listed as per the roster. They contended that it would be in the interest of justice to hear all the matters together, strictly in accordance with the roster.
The Court agreed with the appellants’ arguments and their concerns regarding the proper listing and hearing of the cases as per the roster.
The court highlighted that the judge in question, presiding over a division bench, comprising two judges, during the specified period.
The Court noted,
“The roster explicitly states that if, for any reason, a judge from a division bench needs to preside alone, they should handle the matters designated for such circumstances within the roster itself. According to the roster, the respected Single Judge was assigned to handle original petitions and civil writ petitions specifically from the year 2014,”
The Court allowed the appeal and ordered that the cases be listed before the appropriate single-judge as per the current roster. The Court also quashed the orders passed by the previous single-judge.
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The appellants represented by a team of legal professionals, including Senior Advocate E Nandakumar and advocates Gopikrishnan Nambiar, K John Mathai, Joson Manavalan, Kuryan Thomas, Paulose C Abraham, Raja Kannan and Pranoy Harilal.
On the other side, the respondents were represented by Senior Advocates PB Krishnan and Joseph Kodianthara as well as advocate Biju PS.
Additionally, the State represented by Senior Government Pleader KP Harish.
Read Order: [Nair Service Society & Anr. v. TK Gopalakrishnan Nair & Ors.]