Supreme Court Criticizes Its Registry for Misinterpreting Basic Orders and Wrongly Blaming Court Masters
The Supreme Court recently expressed its displeasure towards its registry for not comprehending straightforward orders and wrongfully attributing the oversight to court masters. The bench, comprising Justices Abhay S Oka and Pankaj Mithal, highlighted the unfortunate scenario where registry officials were attempting to shift the entire responsibility for the oversight onto the court masters.
The bench remarked,
“It is unfortunate that the Senior Court Assistant and other officers have tried to shift the entire blame on the court masters. According to us, the court masters had no role to play in compliance with the orders of this Court and they cannot be blamed for the lapse… This is a very sorry state of affairs. The members of the staff of the registry are not able to understand simple orders passed by this Court and they are trying to shift the entire burden on the court masters which was uncalled for.”
The Court further emphasized the fundamental understanding that a division bench would necessitate two copies of documents. They noted,
“It is obvious that only one copy cannot be supplied and two copies are required. The explanations submitted by some staff members show that even this elementary knowledge was lacking.”
The proceedings in the Supreme Court faced delays due to the registry’s inability to present the required soft copies on record. On May 12, the Court directed the necessary actions to be completed by July 21. However, when the registry failed to present the requisite materials on record, including pertinent documents, the same order was reiterated on July 21. The lapse persisted, and by August 25, the bench sought an explanation from the registrar (Judicial Listing).
Upon reviewing the matter on September 11, the Court examined the justifications provided by the registrar and other staff members. The bench expressed its dissatisfaction with the explanations, emphasizing the need for clarity and adherence to basic procedural knowledge within the registry.
