Supreme Court announces changes to mentioning, urgent listing and adjournment rules from December 1

The Supreme Court recently announced a restructuring of the procedure involved for seeking urgent listing, adjournments and early hearing of cases including a total restriction on Senior Advocates mentioning cases for listing..Towards that end, the Court published four circulars which will come into effect from December 1. The measures, issued days after Justice Surya Kant took over as the Chief Justice of India, aim to reduce unregulated mentioning before benches and introduce predictable timelines for litigants, especially in matters concerning personal liberty..The first set of directions restricts oral mentioning before the Chief Justice of India and eliminates such mentioning for several categories. Senior counsel will no longer be allowed to mention matters before any bench, with young junior counsel encouraged to take up mentioning instead. The Court has simultaneously introduced automatic listing for all urgent fresh matters involving liberty or urgent interim relief. Fresh petitions seeking regular bail, anticipatory bail, cancellation of bail, death penalty relief, habeas corpus, eviction or dispossession relief, demolition protection or any urgent interim order will be listed within the next two working days after verification, without the need for mentioning. The reform removes the requirement for advocates to compete for mentioning slots to secure early listing..The automatic listing system is accompanied by mandatory advance service requirements in all bail matters. Upon registration of a bail petition, the advocate-on-record must immediately serve an advance copy on the Nodal Officer or Standing Counsel of the concerned State, Union Territory or the Union of India, and then file proof of service in the Registry. Without proof of service, the petition will not be verified or listed. The administrative direction emphasised the responsibility of government counsel to ensure proper representation during listing.In categories outside the automatic listing system, the Court has created a structured pathway for seeking early listing. A mentioning proforma and a detailed urgency letter must be submitted by 3:00 p.m. on the previous working day, or by 11:30 am on Saturdays, after which the mentioning officer will verify the case status and place the matter before the Registrar (Judicial Listing) for directions from the Chief Justice of India.Exceptionally urgent matters, such as anticipatory bail, death penalty, habeas corpus, eviction, dispossession or demolition matters, may be submitted before 10:30 am if the accelerated schedule does not suffice, provided the urgency letter explains why the case cannot wait.The circular further clarifies that only matters included in the mentioning list published the previous day may be orally mentioned before the Court.The Court has also overhauled its adjournment procedure. It has introduced mandatory consent from the opposite side and limits adjournments to genuine circumstances. Letters seeking adjournment in fresh and after-notice matters may be circulated only until 11:00 a.m. on the previous working day and only if the opposing counsel or caveator gives prior consent. The letter must specify the reason for seeking adjournment and disclose how many earlier adjournments have already been taken. The circular records that adjournments will be considered only in cases of bereavement, medical or health difficulties of the advocate or party, or other genuinely unavoidable circumstances acceptable to the Court.It adds that all adjournment requests must be submitted in the prescribed format and emailed to adjournment.letter@sci.nic.in, bringing uniformity to a process that previously varied widely from bench to bench..Taken together, the four circulars mark a substantial administrative shift under Chief Justice Surya Kant. The new system reduces oral mentioning, limits adjournments, mandates communication with government counsel in bail matters, and ensures predictable listing of liberty-related cases..[Read Circulars].Follow Bar and Bench channel on WhatsAppDownload the Bar and Bench Mobile app for instant access to the latest legal news.