The Supreme Court unveiled new guidelines aimed at streamlining the filing of written submissions and enhancing the efficiency of oral arguments before Constitution Benches and in crucial final hearing cases. The guidelines, released on Tuesday, establish a standardized operating procedure for submitting soft copies of written arguments, compiling essential documents, rules, and precedents, as well as setting fixed timelines for oral arguments.

Under the guidelines, the respective bench will pre-select a nodal counsel—a qualified Advocate-on-Record (AoR) or an advocate from each party—to facilitate seamless coordination among the legal representatives. This nodal counsel will be responsible for liaising with all attorneys involved in the case and assembling five meticulously indexed electronic volumes as follows:

1. Volume I: This will house the written submissions presented by petitioners or appellants.

2. Volume II: It encompasses the written arguments submitted by respondents.

3. Volume III: This section contains important documents, including pleadings, affidavits, and orders, compiled for ease of reference.

4. Volume IV: Comprising statutory enactments and pertinent research materials such as statutes, rules, legislative discussions, commission reports, and research articles.

5. Volume V: Including legal precedents, which can be organized either by topic or chronology, guided by the nodal counsel's discretion.

Furthermore, when referring to foreign cases, the counsel must provide the nodal counsel with PDF copies of the referenced decisions, accompanied by neutral citations.

Volumes III, IV, and V will consist of materials relied upon by both parties. Any additional materials, such as written submissions, documents, statutory references, and precedents, can only be included with the Court's explicit permission.

The guidelines also outline specific formats for filing:

• All documents must be submitted solely in PDF format, utilizing Times New Roman font at Size 12.5.
• Margins must be uniformly set at 2.54 cm on all sides, following the 'normal' setting in MS Word.
• Maintaining a line spacing of 2 and ensuring pagination aligns between page numbers and PDF pages is crucial.
• The PDF documents must include bookmarks for navigational ease.
• The index should incorporate hyperlinks for efficient cross-referencing.
• Written submissions must prominently display the names of representing counsel, including Senior Advocates where applicable. Clear attribution to the party on whose behalf the submissions are made is essential.

In cases where the Court permits supplementary materials, these must be sequentially paginated and incorporated into the relevant volume, along with appropriate indexing and bookmarks.

The guidelines also address tentative timelines for oral arguments:

• All arguing counsel, through their respective AoRs, should communicate the proposed oral argument timelines to the nodal counsel at least five days before the hearing.
• The nodal counsel will consolidate the proposed timelines and present them for Court approval, following which the Court will determine the final oral argument timelines for all counsel.

These new guidelines are poised to expedite court procedures, ensuring smoother processes for written submissions and oral arguments in significant cases.

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