All courts and tribunals have been advised by the Supreme Court to number all orders and judgements. This statement was issued in a ruling by a bench made up of Justices Krishna Murari and Ahsanuddin Amanullah after seeing that the High Court’s contested decision was not numbered paragraph by paragraph.
The bench cited Shakuntala Shukla v. State of Uttar Pradesh LL 2021 SC 422 and State Bank of India v. Ajay Kumar Sood 2022 (SC) 710 judgements in this light, where the importance of crafting clear and concise judgements was emphasized.
“It is also useful for all judgments to carry paragraph numbers as it allows for ease of reference and enhances the structure, improving the readability and accessibility of the judgments. A Table of Contents in a longer version assists access to the reader”, the Court had observed in State Bank of India v Ajay Kumar Sood. Referring to these precedents, the bench in the instant case observed : “It is desirable that all Courts and Tribunals, as a matter of practice, number paragraphs in all Orders and Judgments in seriatim, factoring in the judgments afore-extracted”
The Supreme Court’s bench further ordered the Secretary-General to transmit this decision to the Registrars General of all High Courts and to present it to the Chief Justices for consideration of the adoption of a consistent format for judgements and orders, including paragraphing. The panel further stated that the Chief Justices could give similar instructions to the Courts and Tribunals below their High Courts.
BS Hari Commandant v. Union of India and others is the name of the case.
HARDIK SHARMA, B.COM LL.B
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