SC grants four weeks time to cure defects of over 1000 cases from 2014 to 2020, Legal News, ET LegalWorld – Legal Firms

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court has granted a four-week time to cure defects of over 1000 cases filed from 2014 to 2020 and warned that if the advocates- on- record failed to do it then the cases shall stand dismissed without any further reference.

Justice PS Narasimha in its order delivered recently observed that there are one thousand-odd matters listed in the court, which were petitions filed before this Court from 2014 to 2020.

As there were defects in the filing, the files were returned to the respective Advocates-on-Record for curing the defects and for refiling. These matters have not come back to the Registry after rectification of defects inspite of reminders having been sent to the counsels, the court noted.

“As the last opportunity, we grant a further time of four weeks from today to cure the defects, failing which the cases shall stand dismissed without any further reference to the Court,” the court said.

Registry to re-notify these cases after verification, if necessary, the court said.

The court clarified that if they are already numbered and disposed of, there is no need for listing the cases further and the same be lodged.

Earlier, the Supreme Court in Mid of the September decided not to register 13,147 matters with uncured defects before August 19, 2014, as it observed many cases had been filed more than eight years ago but defects have never been rectified ever.

In a notification, the top court Registrar had observed that a “bunch of 13,147 unregistered but diarized cases have been registered prior to the year 2014, to be precise before August 19, 2014”

After coming into force of the Supreme Court Rules, 2013 i.e. after August 19, 2014, only, a provision was made to retain one copy of the plaint & court fee stamps with the Registry. The defects in these matters had come to be notified to respective counsel or petitioner-in-person years back and the parties were to cure the same within 28 days.

“The amended statutory provisions envisaged for the same under Order 8 Rule 6 (3), read with Order 3 Rule 8 (6) also clearly shows so. Though subject to discretion, vested by virtue of the Supreme Court Rules itself, at least within 90 days. (As per amended Supreme Court Rules, 2013). The parties have failed to take any effective steps for years at end to rectify and cure the defects so notified,” read the notification.