Supreme Court issues guidelines for written submissions, compilations before Constitution Benches and in important final hearings

The Supreme Court on Tuesday issued guidelines for filing written submissions and compilations before Constitution Benches and in important final hearing cases. .The guidelines provide a standard operating procedure (SOP) for filing soft copies of written submissions and common compilations of documents, rules and precedents. It also calls for fixed timelines for oral arguments in such matters..As per the guidelines, the concerned bench will in advance nominate nodal counsel - an Advocate-on-Record (AoR) or an advocate each from both parties.The nodal counsel will coordinate with all lawyers appearing in the case and compile and file in the electronic form five duly indexed volumes as set out below:1. Volume I - Written submissions of petitioners or appellants2. Volume II - Written submissions of respondents3. Volume III - Documents. This will include pleadings, affidavits and orders which are a part of the record but compiled for convenience of reference.4. Volume IV - Statutory enactments and research material. This will comprise statutes, rules, regulations, legislative debates, reports of Commissions and other material such as research articles.5. Volume V - Precedents.- The judgments can be organized either by topic or chronologically, as determined by the nodal counsel. - Additionally, counsel referring to foreign cases must furnish the nodal counsel with PDF copies of decisions relied upon. It is essential to attach neutral citations alongside the provided documents.Volumes III, IV and V will comprise material relied on by both parties. Any additional written submissions, documents, statutory material and precedents will be added only with the Court's permission. .Practice directions on filing formats.The guidelines also specify the format in which the volumes will be filed.The volumes are to be solely in PDF format, using Times New Roman font at Size 12.5. Margins must be set at 2.54 cm on all sides, utilizing the 'normal' setting in MS Word. Maintaining a line spacing of 2 is essential, and pagination should ensure alignment between running page numbers and PDF pages. The PDF document must be equipped with bookmarks. Additionally, the index should incorporate hyperlinks for efficient referencing. The written submissions must prominently feature the names of the representing counsel, and if applicable, the Senior Advocate. Clear attribution to the party on whose behalf the submissions are filed is crucial.In the event the Court grants permission for the submission of supplementary materials, such materials should be assigned consecutive page numbers and included in the relevant volume. These documents should be appropriately indexed and furnished with corresponding bookmarks..Tentative timelines.All arguing counsel, through their AoR, must inform the nodal counsel about the tentative timelines for their oral arguments at least five days before the commencement of the hearing.The nodal counsel will then prepare and present a statement of the proposed timelines for all counsel, after which the Court will prescribe timelines for oral arguments to be adhered to by all counsel..[Read guidelines]