Now, Bombay High Court to fine incomplete petitions

Mumbai: After ordering levying of fines for frivolous petitions, the Bombay high court has now ordered fines on litigants and petitioners who do not number the pages of their petitions nor give listing of exhibits properly. According to senior advocates, the order issued by Justice G.S. Patel of the Bombay high court last week, wrong or no numbering leads to wastage of time of the court and hence those who take it lightly should have to pay a penalty or their cases could also be rejected.

According to the order issued by D.V. Sawant, prothonotary and senior master of HC, directions have been issued by Justice Patel, “If any matter is found without paging, costs maybe imposed.” The order further states: “..it is the responsibility of every advocate to ensure correct paging, it is also the responsibility of the party who moves the court to ensure that the paging and numbering is corrected before the matter is taken up”.

Welcoming the directions by Justice Patel, advocate Raja Thakare, a senior lawyer appearing for the CBI said, “The Bombay high court is a busy place and due to the haste and hurry in which cases are filed, petitioners and advocates tend to overlook the necessity to do proper pagination. This results in loss of time of the HC, leads to unnecessary delay during hearings. The order is very apt and the senior advocates should take responsibility of guiding the juniors,” said Mr Thakare.

Another senior lawyer requesting anonymity said, “The high court has been trying to create a system wherein frivolous cases seeming to be having a vested interest are dismissed. This high court decision will go a long way in streamlining the process of filing cases.”