In a firm rebuke, the Supreme Court has ruled that the Registry has no authority to remove a case from the cause list without a direct order from the concerned bench or the Chief Justice of India. The decision came after the Court discovered that a case had been deleted from the list due to a procedural oversight—an act the judges deemed unwarranted.
The case in question had been scheduled for hearing but was later struck off by the Registry on the grounds that a notice of alternate arrangement had not been served. However, the Court made it clear that such a procedural lapse does not justify the removal of a case that has already been listed.
A bench comprising Justices Abhay S. Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan addressed the issue, emphasizing that the Registry cannot unilaterally decide which cases proceed. The matter, initially listed for January 26, 2025, was removed without judicial approval, prompting the Court to seek an explanation from the Registrar (Judicial).
Upon review, the Court found that the notice in question had, in fact, been delivered, though no appearance had been entered on behalf of the respondent. Despite this, the Registry had taken the unusual step of deleting the case. The Court ordered the matter to be restored for hearing on February 24, 2025, making it clear that such instances should not recur.
This ruling follows a pattern of judicial scrutiny over the Registry’s functioning. In recent months, the Court has repeatedly raised concerns about the Registry’s handling of case listings, including instances where cases were not scheduled in accordance with judicial orders. The Supreme Court has now reinforced that procedural errors do not grant the Registry discretionary powers over case listings, ensuring that only the judiciary retains control over its docket.