In a move that leaves no room for grayscale ambiguity, the Supreme Court has laid down a crisp new rule: if your case file carries black-and-white photographs, it’s not getting past the Registry’s gate.
The direction emerged from an interim order in a property dispute, where the Bench—headed by the incoming Chief Justice of India—decided that clarity begins with colour. From here on, every petition, annexure, and supporting photograph must arrive in full chromatic honesty.
The instruction is sweeping and simple: any paper-book with monochrome images will sit in the dreaded corridor of “defects not cured,” untouched and unlisted. To ensure that the visuals serve their purpose, the Court further insisted that each set of photographs—especially those depicting land or structures—carry distance measurements and be backed by a conceptual plan.
The message from the Bench is unmistakable: if the evidence is visual, it must be vivid.
The order also tightens the reins on e-filing. Even if photographs are uploaded online or sent by e-mail, the Advocate-on-Record must supply hard-copy colour prints at the same time. Digital convenience, the Court signalled, does not excuse dull documentation.
In short, the Supreme Court has turned the page on faded imagery—insisting that the justice system deserves pictures that tell the whole, colourful truth.
